Published By: Alfaraz Laique

Change in supply chain and distribution system after the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the Value Chain performance for many products, why many businesses have to adopt new forms of production and distribution. Select a company and one food product that interests you and evaluate the extent to which your selected company has engaged with the impact COVID-19 pandemic. What innovative and efficient methods are used by the chosen company to take advantage of the opportunities that arise from the pandemic.

The breakout of coronavirus around the world in December 2019 is the worst epidemic in the history of human civilization. The extent was such that WHO declared it a pandemic. COVID-19 spread to all countries by March 2020 (WHO, 2021). The pandemic has affected the lifestyle and day-to-day activities of people all over the globe. The world experienced and, to an extent, is still experiencing a severe crisis in public health, economy and finance, wellbeing and food security. The world witnessed one of the harshest restrictions and most prolonged lockdowns in various countries.

The disruption in system

COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted supply chains globally and at local levels, therefore, leading to poverty, food insecurity and hunger. The people experienced a sudden shift in everyday activities from in-person to online. It led to a drastic change in consumer behaviour towards diet, mode of grocery purchase and stocking mechanism. The consumers have moved from "wants" to "needs". Like other economies around the world, the Indian economy was also drastically affected by the lockdown imposed by the government in March 2020. It also disturbed the health of human and economic growth. Due to the lockdown, the movement of labours was restricted alongside the rising infection rate which led to a shortage of manpower. The dairy industry holds a valuable place in Indian agricultural scenario because of its contribution to the economy.

Innovation in supply chain

A large-scale dairy facility requires highly skilled labour, packaging materials, a consistent supply of raw materials, continuous dispatch of completed goods, and continuous energy, and the absence of any of the above will cause disruption in the dairy industry's operations. Large-scale dairy factories in India have difficulty delivering milk products between states during the COVID 19 epidemic, resulting in a decrease in dairy production. Due to challenges in transporting raw materials and finished goods during the lockdown period, this situation was witnessed across the country. With the lessons learned from the COVID 19 epidemic, companies like AMUL are interested in implementing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques in their supply chain to save money and establish a more reliable distribution network.