Summary
In early 2020 the globe was suddenly attacked by the coronavirus with no forewarning. Undoubtedly, it was clear that supply networks would be significantly impacted and that supply chain management of organizations would play a critical role in ensuring seamless logistics. For instance, DHL corporation was one of the most impacted organizations due to their nature of conveying goods which involved handling by different people. In this way, quick and economical delivery is needed to promote further study and development of automation and logistics technologies at DHL to ensure seamlessness in logistic frameworks.
Characteristics of the DHL Organization
DHL is logistics with a prominent presence in more than 220 nations. The organization operates with a robust logistics framework since it comprises 1,818,000,000 parcels delivered annually (DHL, 2020). On the same note, its staff of more than 380,000 helps address a limitless range of logistical demands. Moreover, DHL consists of three divisions: DHL Express, Global Forwarding, Freight, and DHL Supply Chain (DHL, 2020). Due to the recent global ramifications of the pandemic, country rivalry, and global crisis, a feasible supply chain is obligatory. Hence, DHL as a host country in India will be vital in expanding its operations in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. This is because India is strategically located with a robust market.
India as a Host Country for DHL
After the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s GDP shrunk by over a quarter, far more than anticipated and indicating a lengthier than previously projected recovery. As a result, operations nearly collapsed during the enacted stringent measures to counteract the COVID-19 outbreak. Subsequently, India, the world’s fastest-growing large economy, appeared to be steered for its first full-year recession since 1980 (Kumar, 2020). The country’s economy stalled and equally affected the distribution of goods. Specifically, in India, the national and per capita income became relatively low, regarded as one of the fundamental characteristics of economic decline. Consumer expenditure, the primary economic engine, fell thereafter, reducing overall logistics.
India as a Host Country for DHL
COVID-19 impacts several agricultural practices and supply linkages. Initial reports indicate that the shortage of migrant labor has a negative impact on harvesting methods, particularly in the northwestern region of India, where wheat and pulses are grown. The supply chain will have challenges due to transit issues and other factors (Kumar, 2020). Wheat, vegetables, and other agricultural prices have declined, but purchasers continue to pay more. The closure of hotels, restaurants, confectionery stores, and tea shops during the lockdown is already affecting the sales of dairy products, whilst chicken producers have been seriously impacted by claims, particularly on social media, that poultry is a COVID-19 transmitter.
Characteristics of the Innovations
In the struggle against rival companies, a lot of organizations are switching to automation through the use of autonomous technology. This relates to drone usage, which helps lower shipping and operating costs for drone-based last-mile deliveries (Kumar et al. 2020). Additionally, businesses have begun employing drone services since they are simply scalable and extremely adjustable. With most drone systems, integration with the warehouse management system is easy. Additionally, the omnichannel distribution approach is still being used. This entails the development of numerous channels for the distribution of goods, including a balanced mix of conventional brick-and-mortar stores, smart pickup locations, and online formats, strengthening the supply chain by providing clients with various ways to order goods.
Applicability of the Innovations
While merchants have promoted the idea that drones will carry packages to customers’ homes when they provide same-day services, DHL business may profit from product delivery inside the supply chain. Drones may be used to transport raw materials from the warehouse to the production line (Dutta, 2021). Drones may also transfer finished goods from warehouse shelves to retail racks or load goods onto pallets for delivery to customers and wholesalers. In addition, omnichannel delivery is timely and accurate, making it essential for accelerating the shipment of perishable items.
The Better Innovation
The use of automation will be more practical in India due to its vast population. Therefore, DHL application using drones will be ideal in ensuring the smoothness of goods allocation to remote Indian regions. Furthermore, drones assist in the reduction of equipment and workforce needs, and in the same sense, they can take over workers’ basic duties in situations of scarcity or high attrition.
Reference List
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Awwad, M., Kulkarni, P., Bapna, R. and Marathe, A., 2018. ‘Big data analytics in supply chain: a literature review, ‘ In Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2018, pp. 418-25. Web.
Dutta, P.K. and Mitra, S. (2021). ‘Application of Agricultural Drones and IoT to Understand Food Supply Chain During Post COVID‐19’ Agricultural Informatics, [online] pp.67–87.
DHL. (2020). Global Logistics – International Shipping | DHL Home |. [online] Web.
Kumar et al. (2020). ‘ Social-economic impact of COVID-19 outbreak in India ‘ | Emerald Insight. (2020). International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, [online] 16(4), pp.309–319.
Kumar, M. (2020). India’s recovery to take time after economy shrinks 24% in June quarter. Reuters, [online] U.S. Web.