COVID-19 Impact on Pharmaceutical Packaging in Chemicals and Materials Industry

COVID-19 Impact on Last-Mile Delivery in Semiconductors and Electronics Industry

  • Semiconductors and Electronics
  • Jun 14, 2021

Coronavirus disease has created a pandemic scenario all over the globe. Until the date, the remedies or vaccine for humans everyday save you from corona is not determined. Also, the growing spread and uncontrollable effect on human life are hampering the economic system. The government has already taken preventive measures in the form of lockdown to mitigate the risk of infection and control the outbreak of the virus. Last-mile delivery is a generic tool that will increase the effectiveness and performance of a contact center with specific attention on facilitating interactions among clients and call center dealers. The last-mile delivery is stated as the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final delivery destination. Generally, the final goal of the product is typically personal residence. Last-mile delivery aims to deliver goods or items to the end-user as fast as possible. As consumers increasingly shifted to e-commerce for their purchase and shopping needs, speedy fulfillment is necessary. Hence, last-mile delivery has started to fulfill customer satisfaction and strive for better service quality. A last-mile delivery can be referred to as the last leg of supply chain process operations. The goods or items are delivered to the customers' residence from the warehouse or transportation hub.

For instance,

  • Onfleet, a San Francisco based-provider of delivery management software, announced that it had raised USD 14.00 million in series A. Launched in 2015, Onfleet is the outgrowth of another company. Onfleet will use this new funding to build out its team, aiming to hire additional 20 people in engineering, sales and marketing.

Aftermath Strategies for Last-Mile Delivery Market and Government Role

The COVID-19 created a significant impact on the manufacturing operations as the governments of various countries highlighted the importance of health and safety, which increased the demand for intelligent solutions in manufacturing processes. Due to the remote working culture introduced in the industry, the usage of the e-commerce industry is increased as people are avoiding purchasing from brick and mortar stores. Besides, home delivery retailers offer their customers the opinion of picking up their packages at a location of their choice. Market share has shifted from B2B to B2C market at the formally business-oriented delivery market now also sees last-mile delivery services as a critical differentiator. When it comes to convenience, nothing beats clicking a button to order an item and have it shipped directly to your doorstep.

For instance,

  • Amazon flex has introduced reward programs for their on-demand delivery drivers. Gig workers can earn cashback, set preferred scheduling, access discounts and get help navigating health, accidents and life insurance. This will boost the drivers' confidence, which will positively impact their services in less time. In addition, this incentive strategy will benefit the drivers and companies in terms of profits.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MARKET IN COVID-19 SITUATION

Despite initial fluctuations in demand, the pandemic has only accelerated the growth of e-commerce. The sales were at an all-time high, up to 55% year over year for the first seven months of the year resulting in USD 434.50 million in online spending. Of the various expenses associated with last-mile delivery, labor delivery labor is the highest, accounting for 60% costs. Robotic delivery in the form of self-driving vehicles or drones and autonomous delivery robots has increased.

Major companies such as UPS, FedEx, Amazon Inc. are automating their deliveries which will be contactless. This will eventually boost up the market in the pandemic.

STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE

The companies have taken many strategic decisions to advance the marketplace for their market share after COVID-19. The companies will take advantage of the companies' boosting the e-commerce market by introducing new delivering technologies and services.  

  • Develop a new solution: The acceleration of e-commerce and growing demand for rapid fulfillment has also promoted a shift in how retailers approach warehousing. Following in the footsteps of major players such as Walmart, Target and IKEA, a growing number of businesses are exploring the possibility of urban warehousing.
  • Offer new services to manage the last-mile delivery: The companies are trying to offer new services to the customers with the help of new strategies and opportunities. By maximizing the operational opportunities to minimize the cost, the companies invest in R&D to improve their services. The companies have introduced new technologies to delivery to doorstep.
  • Other growth opportunities for market players to pursue in 2020: The last-mile delivery needs support capabilities that allow your agents to talk to customers wherever they are. This implementation makes things more cost-effective if there is limited bandwidth. Thus, the omnichannel customer service solution pulls in customer questions from all channels and organizes them in the same bucket. The introduction of robot delivery that is contactless will eventually boost the market and opportunities for e-commerce.

Price Impact

The COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the countries' governments had adversely impacted the prices of the services due to the implementation of remote working. In addition, the costs of the services have been increased as the doorstep and the companies have started contactless deliveries.

Impact On Demand

The adoption of last-mile delivery has increased due to the enterprise's need to establish a more agile system for customer engagement against the legacy systems. Moreover, the pandemic has initiated a trend for the companies to shift fast and timeless deliveries.

Impact on Supply Chain

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the market, but the services are now shifted towards a cloud platform, which is very easy and flexible to use. This cloud platform services also saves the cost of the companies as they pay when you use services. In addition, the companies are now making their supply chain network more robust and flexible in the pandemic situation as e-commerce has grown drastically.

Conclusion

Operational intelligence is an essential factor for the last-mile to concentrate on as they should be aware of potential failures. The last-mile delivery running in an open environment should be equipped with geolocation sensors to help tackle accidents and mishaps. Automation will ultimately help in tackling casualties and also for the betterment of human life. The new product developments and new service launches by the companies are boosting the market growth. The launch of autonomous deliveries will help in increased safety and reduced costs.