Logistics After COVID
Logistics job is to make sure items are transported around the world. So, when a global pandemic hits, how does an industry so reliant on crossing borders, continents, land, sea and air respond?
Whilst borders closed and tighter restrictions were placed on travel, eCommerce began to boom. With people all over the globe in lockdown, the demand for delivery doubled. This meant that the logistics industry had to adapt quickly and efficiently.
For Dubai and the UAE, the effects of the pandemic were dampened by an abundance of new technologies already in place. As one of the largest business centers on the planet, Dubai has some of the most up to date and technologically advanced logistical infrastructures in the world. Using IoT (Internet of Things) technology, efficiency and connectivity between road, port, sea and air streamline the region’s supply chain.
With the COVID-19 virus shaking up economies, one success story was eCommerce, even in the UAE where traditional ‘brick and mortar’ retail has always prevailed. With many high street businesses realizing their susceptibility to forces of nature, decentralizing stock to ensure availability across the regions they operate becomes a focus. Dubai CommerCity offers an answer to their dilemma, with infrastructures already in place for online retail to thrive.
Logistics & Warehouse Management for the Future
Automation looks to be the world’s savior. In 2019 the world was careering towards an automated future anyway, COVID-19 has only served to speed up that process. With hands forced, the time to implement these changes has begun.
Looking at world industries, car manufacturing has relied heavily on automation for many years with robots undertaking the positions previously held by humans on the production line. What we have learnt from the pandemic, however, is that the automation of production does not equate to business survival. The car industry has suffered one of the biggest blows from the bug.
Smart logistics uses automation to take care of picking, packing and delivery which could all be undertaken by autonomous robotic entities. From the robot in the warehouse to the vehicle that pulls up at your driveway, the reaches of full logistical automation are well and truly within our grasp.
Technologies such as IoT help future proof eCommerce and outbound logistics industries against the damage that pandemics or other global catastrophes may bring. With traders looking to decentralize their stock to ensure availability across borders , Dubai CommerCity offers the chance for eCommerce to reach 360 degrees throughout the MENA and MEASA regions.
The Present
It is easy to jump the gun and look to what might be. For now, keeping shelves stacked and food flowing is the focus. Dubai’s state-of-the-art infrastructure allows it to compete as a re-export hub which keeps the food fresh, and the stocks plentiful. Investment in innovation has been the key to this success, if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that investment and innovation will also be the key to the future.
Under the world’s spotlight, logistics in Dubai and the rest of the UAE have sparkled thus far. With minimal to no shortages throughout the pandemic, the region has become a focal point for other nations logistical operations.
Forward thinking and world leading, Dubai CommerCity is here to deliver an eCommerce enabled ecosystem that encourages efficiency, growth and sustainability.
