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Global risk management provider SAI Global says the enormous pressure on businesses in the logistics and supply chain sectors by this year’s exponential growth in delivery volumes, has exposed operational and workforce vulnerabilities. SAI Global warns continued growth – particularly with the new Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – will test providers in the sector over the next five years. Leveraging strong management systems will be key to success.
Daniel Havers, Technical Manager at SAI Global say: “The unique circumstances that instantly drove consumers to buy online rather than in store gave the logistics industry no time to assess customer demand. Instead, they were forced to simultaneously solve shortages in staffing, transportation, distribution capacity or employee PPE as they occurred, causing delivery delays.
Daniel says: “The new trade agreement covers 30 per cent of the global economy, and will put further pressure on providers in logistics and supply chains that will need to pivot the direction of their business with the new agreement. Under-performing management can interfere with the strategic direction of the business, and therefore system and training improvements will be needed. An ISO 9001 Certification ensures organisations meet the benchmark criteria for quality products and services, consistently. An ISO 45001 Certification ensures they meed the international standard for workplace safety – in addition to meeting workplace safety laws. Securing certification includes a thorough audit of existing systems to gauge areas that fall short of international standards, followed by improvements, then further reviews and amendments – a process that takes months. Additionally, I encourage organisations to develop a management plan to minimise the potential of worker fatigue during busy periods of high business activity, while still enabling organisations to handle high volumes.”