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How the UK Lockdown is Hitting Logistics

How the UK Lockdown is Hitting Logistics
How the UK Lockdown is Hitting Logistics

I am sure you are well aware that a new strain of the Covid-19 has been found in the UK. The new variant is said to be much more harmful than the previous one. This new wave has instigated European countries to impose a travel ban on the UK.

With that, the UK government is also putting the country under a strict lockdown. You are also most likely aware that Brexit is coming into effect from the 1st of January. Imagine how it will be for all the businesses and institutions to face not one but two significant changes as the New Year commences. 

We must remind you that this is indeed the holiday season! This is when most retail businesses have a sales boost, which allows them to make enough return from year-round investments. For almost all the countries around the globe, this is the shopping season, where retailers come up with attractive offers like Black Friday, Clearance Sales, Winter Sales, and many others. However, with Brexit, the orders and sales will face many challenges especially with a considerable portion of the sales coming from outside the UK.

The UK lockdown also means that even essential workers will have to practice safety measures and social distancing while working. With limited transportation and workforce, procuring and delivering products on time is a threat itself. So, what can UK retailers do amidst such challenging times?

Ways to Handle Logistics in the New Lockdown

Automation and Digitization

Yes, there is no better or crucial time to fully digitize your business. We assume that you have already started selling online and have also registered your products and services on one or multiple e-commerce platforms. Managing these online platforms is a huge task in and of itself.

You will have to account for incoming orders and where customers are returning products. Then you will also have to forward these to your warehouse manager. Managers will then process the product and again handle it to the shipping manager. With multiple platforms, things are bound to get messy and needlessly time-consuming. So, there’s no way but for you to automate the whole process.

Hardware

Barcode, QR code, or RFID technology should have already been implemented within the business. With this, every step of the logistics process can communicate with just a scanner, which allows systems to become safer and far more efficient.

Big warehouses should also look into bringing in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Having humans operating a warehouse might not be particularly adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines, making the AMR option more attractive and lucrative than ever. AMRs can also make up for the speed due to fewer workforces.

Software

There are many sales and logistics, transport and warehouse management system’s that helps support the entire supply chain and it’s core processes. The software will accumulate all the orders from different platforms and forward the required details to all the personnel as they need them. The warehouse manager won’t have to bring out one stock at a time; instead, they will know the efficient way to organize and handle the warehouse.

Conclusion

You must have realized by now that using the latest supply chain technologies has become a must for businesses. Depending on your type and size, there are always cost-effective options for you. This is future proof, and also at this time, a way to beat the competitors.

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About the author

Jitender Sharma

Publisher on Google News and Founder of The Next Hint, Inc. Spent 40,000 hours in Business development and Content Creation. Expert in optimizing websites according to google updates and providing a solution-based approach to rank websites on the Internet. My aspirations are to help people build a business while I'm also open to learning and imparting knowledge. Passionate about marketing and inspired to find new ways to create captivating content.
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