Do the shelves of your grocery stores look as if they’ve been looted?
Our grocery shelves are bare, stores don’t know when the trucks are coming with fresh stock, and according to one store employee, shelf stockers may find themselves laid-off because there’s just no stock to put on the shelves!
At least 25% of reported Canadian truckers are vaccinated, and up to 40% of American truckers are as well. But many disagree with the mandate to get immunized or pull over. While there is a “Freedom Convoy” on the way to Ottawa to protest, many feel it's a waste of time. They believe the government will dig their heels in and force truckers to get the jab or be sidelined. Truckers are not allowed across the border without proof of immunization, and this mandate has slowed delivery of goods, food-stuff and all kinds of supplies. Shelves are bare, and when a delivery truck does pull in, word gets out and a rush is on to get supplies before it’s all gone. There is no more waiting until pay-day to get your food.
Get it now or go without.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says there are reports of truckers intending to leave the industry. The industry is expecting a loss of 12,000 to 16,000 cross-border commercial drivers due to this month’s mandate. That’s a lot of groceries held up by a lack of drivers.
The pandemic has affected 72% of businesses in one way or another. Over the past two years, organizations with smart leadership have been able to pivot, learn and adapt in order to stay alive. Many industry leaders took a hard look at their systems, invested in digital tools, new approaches and replaced legacy systems that were no longer were adaptable. This self-reflection and investment will (hopefully) allow them to move from a reactionary position to one of foresight and better responsiveness.
One of those new approaches is called “supply chain as a service”, or SCaaS. In essence, a company would sign with a service partner to support all their supply chain needs such as item procurement, manufacturing, quality control, warehousing, and logistics enabled by cloud software. This approach is similar to tech giants who provide all the services their clients might need, preventing them from having to look elsewhere for splinter components of their needs. In the SCaaS model, current logistics companies could study the needs of their clients and grow in directions that would provide more services, thereby solidifying their potential for adaptability and future growth. This is good for the economy because it would ease much of the procurement, pricing and logistics nightmares stores battled with before the pandemic. Even smaller chains. It’s good for the end consumer too, because it eases (in theory) much of the supply issues.
The days of the “just in time” system are over. The companies and organizations that will survive these changing times are the ones that will adopt elastic responses. Basically, organizations who plan ahead and have different response plans to different scenarios. No more “just in time” inventory, but plans A, B and C that are adapted for different demands from consumers. This will minimize risk, improve customer service and ultimately build a more loyal customer base. From the customer’s perspective, an elastic response should lessen shortages and respond more quickly to changing demands.
But all of this will not come into play next week. It may take the duration of 2022 for any of these scenarios to be enacted. In the meantime, it is up to the individual consumer, you and I, to find the best way forward for ourselves. For our families. It is up to us to do as the supply chain industry has done - study what we currently consume, examine how we can provide it for ourselves and adopt more elastic systems moving forward. Take on increased responsibility for personal resilience by doing more for ourselves, while consuming less of what we don’t really need. Leaning more heavily on the limping supply chain won’t get us any further ahead. Being more responsible for ourselves, thinking creatively, adapting to the empty shelves and growing what food we can is good for our mental health and morale. It worked for our grandparents and it will work for us.
If you enjoyed what you’ve just read, think how smart you’ll look when you tell your friends about it. So share this with everyone you know! Thanks so much for sharing your time with me today.
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