Business Logistics Report: Impact of COVID-19 and New Tech

This report analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business logistics, focusing on challenges within purchasing, manufacturing, and customer cycles, and proposes solutions to mitigate these issues. The study also explores the influence of emerging technologies like warehouse robotics, including automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, aerial drones, and automated storage and retrieval systems, on both supply-side and demand-side logistics. Real-world examples, such as Amazon and 2XL, are used to illustrate how these technologies enhance warehousing efficiency, improve security, and streamline operations. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting to technological advancements to optimize supply chain management and maintain logistical performance in a rapidly changing business environment.

Business Logistics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
QUESTION 1..................................................................................................................................3
Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the overall logistical performance cycle of companies........3
QUESTION 2..................................................................................................................................5
Impact of new technologies on logistics system..........................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Business logistics can be defined as complete distribution of control of inventory from
purchasing of raw materials to point of consumption of goods and services by customers
(Marchet, and et. al., 2018). It is one of the most important part of organizations that helps them
in buying raw materials for manufacturing at lowest price to transport finished manufactured
goods to customers of organization present globally. This report will lay emphasis upon
discussing impact of Covid-19 outbreak on overall logistical performance cycle, challenges faced
by organizations in this cycle and solution for overcoming those challenges in an appropriate
manner. This report will further focus upon discussing ways in which new technology may
impact logistics system of organizations in terms of supply side logistics and demand side
logistics. This will be explained using real world examples of corporate organizations
QUESTION 1
Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the overall logistical performance cycle of companies
Current pandemic situation of Covid-19 has directly impacted logistical performance cycle
of most of the organizations, but majorly movement and storage of goods have been impacted
globally. This sudden outbreak of Covid-19 resulted in making availability of goods and services
to customers difficult. Sudden outbreak of Coronavirus had initially stopped movement of goods
across country for organizations (Chung, Talluri and Kovács, 2018). There were various kinds of
challenges that were associated with logistics of companies that were created due to Covid-19
outbreak movement, storage, and flow of goods were directly affected due to this pandemic.
Logistical performance cycle of an organization. There were various kinds of challenges that
were created by Covid-19 outbreak on logistical performance cycle of organizations. Challenges
of logistical performance cycle will be divided into three sub categories that are purchasing,
manufacturing, and customer cycle.
Challenges and solution to overcome identified challenges
Purchasing cycle: Purchasing is one of the most important part of logistics because it involves
purchasing of raw materials from vendor. The main aim of this system is to purchase raw
materials from vendors at lowest possible price (Singh and et. al., 2020). At this cycle
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organizations place orders to vendors and when order is confirmed by vendors then they
transport required raw materials to companies. When companies receive order, they inspect and
analyse it and them pay for their purchase of raw material. But due to Covid-19 outbreak
organizations faced various kinds of challenges in purchasing cycle. Due to Covid-19 outbreak
most of the organizations suffered loss and due to restrictions in travelling transportation cost for
goods increased drastically. This resulted in increasing prices of raw material and increasing
overall expenditure of companies. Due to Covid-19 already organizations were suffering loss and
increasing raw material prices directly resulted in increasing expenditure done on raw material
purchasing.
Solution to overcome above identified challenge of purchasing cycle is that organizations can
focus upon searching for local vendors who can provide or supply them almost same quality raw
material in average princes (Wang and et.al., 2020). This can directly help organizations in
overcoming transportation challenge. Giving raw material orders to new local vendor would
directly reduce transportation because of which overall cost or expenditure done of raw material
purchasing would get reduced.
Manufacturing cycle: it is another important cycle of logistical performance cycle because in this
cycle raw materials are made available for manufacturing of final finished goods. When final
goods are manufactured then those goods are transferred from manufacturing plants to
warehouses. There are various kinds of challenges that organizations faced in manufacturing
cycle due to Covid-19 outbreak. First of all, making availability of raw materials for
manufacturing on time was a challenge because due to Covid-19 outbreak transportation was
impacted drastically (Rosenbaum, 2020). Most of the vendors faced difficulty in transporting
required raw materials to organizations on time and if this transportation was to be done from
one country to another then it was more difficult for vendors to complete order on time. Initially
at the starting of Covid-19 many orders from vendors were cancelled because of which timely
availability of raw materials for manufacturing were made difficult.
Giving order of raw material to local vendors will eliminate challenge of provision or availability
of raw materials on time for manufacturing. In Current pandemic situations most of the
organizations have put restrictions on number of people who can get involved in manufacturing
of products. Due to this, it is important for organizations to receive raw materials ordered on time
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so that manufacturing process is not delayed due to a smaller number of employees and late
delivery of raw materials. So, giving order to local vendors for raw materials would help in
overcoming manufacturing cycle challenges that were created due to Covid-19 outbreak.
Customer cycle: it is another important part of logistical performance cycle because once a
product is manufactured it is required to be made available to customers. Making final product
available to customers was one of the biggest challenges that was faced by organizations due to
Covid-19 outbreak (Banks and et. al., 2020). Due to this situation transportation cost increased
because of which final price of goods or services also increased. In this pandemic situation many
people lost their jobs because of which sales of organizations were impacted drastically.
Organizations had to suffer double loss first was because of high transportation costs and second
was due to lower sales. It was one of the main impacts of Covid-19 outbreak on customer cycle
of logistical performance cycle.
Solution for overcoming these challenges faced by companies in customer cycle can be
overcome by providing various kinds of offers to customers that would motivate them to buy
their products and services such as free home delivery in this pandemic situation. Organizations
can further focus upon reducing their other less useful expenditure such as double packaging etc.
This will help them in reducing final price of products and services as a result final price of
finished goods and services can be reduced. This will make products and services feasible to buy
products and services.
QUESTION 2
Impact of new technologies on logistics system
Warehouse robotics can be defined as use of automated systems and robots and
specialised software for transportation of material, perform different tasks and streamlining
automated warehousing processes (Havenga, 2018). Several companies have adopted robotic
capabilities to increase their warehousing efficiency and this has made considerably positive
effect on existing warehousing practices.
This has impact on both aspects of logistics that are-
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 Supply-side logistics
 Demand-side logistics
Supply- side logistics: Supply side planning is planning done to check availability of raw
material is forecasted that can be used by organizations for manufacturing for fulfilment of needs
and demands of customers (Oluyase and et. al., 2021). In this required raw materials are
forecasted as per the needs and demand of customers so that only required amount of raw
material is ordered for manufacturing (Wu, 2019). Supply-side logistics involve logistics for the
purpose of supply and in this warehouse robotics can be very helpful. In this different types of
robotic capabilities can help in efficiently managing supply logistics.
Demand-side logistics: Demand side planning is a process in which forecasting and predicting
demand of product in order to ensure that delivery of products can satisfy needs of customers and
can enhance their satisfaction level (Shen, 2020). Demand side logistics is a process of
transporting products in such a manner that it can be delivered to customers for meeting their
needs.
Automated Guided Vehicles:
This is one of the types of robotic capabilities that enable to transport inventory around
warehouse. This is a technology used by Amazon in their organisation and with help of
automated guided vehicles supply material can be transported to its destination from warehouse.
In this automated guided vehicles follow a magnetic strips or a track that is laid in warehouse
(Kumar and Kumar, 2018). However, there are also types of automated guided vehicles that do
not follow track or magnetic strips and such vehicles have additional safety scanner that allow
them to be used with manual vehicles.
These automated guided vehicles are loaded with map of warehouse and location of inventory.
This facilitates supply of inventory from exact location and with help of these warehouse robots
Amazon becomes able to execute all delivery and supplies efficiently and in less time. Along
with Amazon there are several 2XL is a logistics company in Belgium that uses automated
guided vehicles to significantly improve their warehousing efficiency (Xiao-Long and et.al.,
2017). Use of Automated Guided Vehicles increased security and stability of the system. Large
warehouses often require workers to move from one place to another and this work can be done
easily and in less time by robotic capabilities of the organisation.
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Autonomous Mobile Robots
This technology is similar to Automated Guided Vehicles having sensor technology for
delivering inventory around the warehouse (Li and et.al., 2020). However, autonomous mobile
robots do not require a set track or preset route between locations. AMR has ability to understand
their environment through use of computers, onboard sensors and maps. Autonomous mobile
robots have capability to identify information on packages and sort them precisely. Best on
needed operations autonomous mobile robot can move throughout warehouse and which is why
they are useful for both supply side logistics as well as demand side Logistics because of their
ability to identify information on packages and complete operations for supply or demand side
Logistics. In demand side logistics autonomous mobile robots can offer efficiency accuracy and
security while soaking process so that warehouse Management process can be carried out
effectively (Mehami, Nawi and Zhong, 2018). This robot also has a capability to provide
consistency in accuracy regardless of how complicated the process of operations is.
Aerial drones
This is another warehouse robotic capability in which don’t have amazing potential for
Logistic industry and was introduced by Jeff Bezos as a concept of Amazon octocopter Drone
that delivers packages straight to their consumers. Aerial Drone can be very helpful for
optimisation of warehouse inventory processes and put the purpose of supply side Logistics
aerial drones are most effective means of timely completing all the supplies. Amazon is an
example of organisation that uses aerial drones for supply side Logistics. Aerial drones
technology is one of the most effective warehouse robotic capability that quickly came location
for automized inventory and can connect automatically with warehouse management system to
access information about existing inventory (Fragapane and et.al., 2020). Aerial drones use
optical system along with deep learning Technologies and computer vision to navigate
warehouses. Along with this aerial drones are also useful and effective as they do not take up
much space in the warehouse this and do not get in the way of people and other robotic devices
in warehouses.
Automated storage and retrieval system
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This is another warehouse robotic capability. In this automated storage and retrieval
systems bring inventory in and out of storage. This means that it is useful for both supply as well
as demand side logistic. This technology is paired with software that undertake warehouse
execution and direct the operations. Automated storage and retrieval system are in different
forms and depends on type of task the system needed and goods that it will be working with.
Automated storage and retrieval system can work either as shuttle that work on a fixed track or a
crane that retrieve goods between aisles. Now there are aisle climbing robots like Skypod that
retrieves customer orders (Patchou, Sliwa and Wietfeld, 2019). In this by cutting down the
labour and time spent on the retrieval workers can concentrate on more complicated processes
like packaging and posting goods. Alibaba that is largest retailer in world uses of automated
storage and retrieval system and have proved how effective it can be at the warehouses. Alibaba
uses 60 robots and the reduced warehouse labour by 70%. Robots operate through Wi-Fi to bring
inventory to workers for packaging and posting it.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that Covid-19 outbreak have created various
kinds of challenges for organizations in logistical performance cycle. Due to Covid-19 most of
the organizations have faced logistical challenges in all the three cycles that are purchasing,
manufacturing, and customer cycles because of which their business have been impacted
drastically. It has further been concluded that in order to increase efficiency of warehouses many
organizations have adopted robotic capabilities that have directly impacted their logistic system
on both supply side and demand side logistics.
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REFERENCES
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