Leaders in the logistics sector have been urged to create effective plans to enhance the supply chain and immediately identify any weak points that need to be assessed and addressed, a leading local logistics provider said.
“Leaders need to make rapid and immediate decisions to sustain operations so they can maintain the successful distribution of supplies and services quickly, safely, and securely to the front-liners and people at risk of infection. Supply chains must take a holistic approach and create a strong framework,” urged Jay Marzan, chairman of JP Marzan Project Ventures, Inc.
“The global economy has taken a huge blow because of the current pandemic but, this must not become a reason for us to be paralyzed with fear.”
Marzan cited various studies pointing to a debilitating impact to the global economy due to the disruption in global trade as a result of the various government responses to fight COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted the report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which showed that the disruption in world trade could mean a $50-billion decline in overall global exports, which would also adversely affect the Philippine supply chains.
An analysis from the Center for Economic Policy and Research based in Washington, D.C also said that COVID-19 hit the heart of “factory Asia,” which consists of not only China but also Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. It was described as “supply chain contagion,” which means that the world supply chain system is exposed consequently to a “disease outbreak” due to its over-concentration.
According to a study by Avasant, the supply chains of multiple industries such as Energy & Resources. Healthcare & Life Sciences, High Tech & Telecomms, Travel & Transportations, Retail, and Manufacturing were hit the most in this pandemic. This is troubling since the manufacturing of the pharma sector, which has an important role now is negatively impacted.
Despite responding decisively to contain the pandemic and help marginalized sectors, Marzan said, supply chains in the country were still impacted.
“Now, more than ever, supply chain leaders must rise to the occasion, and help fight both the pandemic and the economic decline,” Marzan said adding that the steady decline of the global economy will continue to damage industries such as tourism, retail, and particularly logistics—which includes the supply chains of almost all industries.
Among the main services that logistics companies provide are trucking, sea and air freighting, and warehousing—a clear manifestation that the logistics industry handles the movement of goods around the world.
The industry may be experiencing declines due to global responses to the pandemic, such as lockdowns and restrictions but the importance of logistics, specifically the supply chains, is still emphasized even in the crisis.
For instance, he said, the Philippines decided recently to import millions of PPE sets worth P1.8 billion from China. They plan to send Naval ships to hasten the importation of the sets, because currently only about 70,000 PPE sets have arrived in the country which is less than 10 percent of the total amount.
The products would then be transported to the warehouse managed by the Office of Civil Defense where it will be distributed to different hospitals, however, it would take a long time to finish the transport of the much-needed medical supplies. “It is instances like this that logistics leaders can make a difference where they can help the country’s economy and the health and safety of the front-liners during this pandemic,” Marzan concluded.
