Logistics companies in UAE have been vibrant and resilient during the lockdown period, ensuring an uninterrupted chain to stave off any shortages of goods and medication, unlike countries in other regions.
The supply chain resilience in Dubai is because of the significant amount of investment in multimodal facilities and infrastructure over many decades. For this reason, Dubai supermarket shelves were fully stocked in the UAE.
The digitization and increased automation of traditional supply chain functions eliminate the unnecessary steps that often cause the most tension for businesses in difficult times. The technology adoption and its strategic location have lent themselves to supporting countries in the region during the pandemic.
Agility
When common import channels are stifled due to the pandemic, effective and adequate alternatives, be it international and local, need to be ready for immediate backup. The efficiencies of logistics companies in Dubai made it less impactful for the industry to face severe loss.
Having various international shippers across all regions globally, freight forwarders in Dubai have quickly pivot around trade route challenges and border restrictions during the pandemic.
Special supplier bonds may allow for cost competitiveness short term but open businesses to high risk when that source is treated. When specific markets were restricted, open marketplaces with a large goods basket when it is about source markets have meant that more than 85% of international shippers on the Seafood Souq field could still fulfill UAE demands.
Digitization
Logistics companies in Dubai were able to work because when global shippers are threatened, it is essential to see the value in home-grown innovative aquaculture methods as an alternative to solely depending on internationally sourced seafood.
There has been an investment and innovation wave in aquaculture and urban farming in Dubai over the past decades in the interest of food security. It was great news for Dubai when they were forced to look to be less reliant on globalization and become more self-sufficient. But you may wonder, how did people access the local markets?
The UAE started to move to digitize these markets, one of these projects the partnership with various seafood companies.
How did the pandemic affect the logistics companies in Dubai?
The year 2020 saw COVID-19challenge economies, government, businesses, and health care systems. And logistics companies in Dubai were no exception as operators scrambled to keep essential supplies moving in light of transport disruptions, volatile supply chains, and movement restrictions.
Logistics companies in Dubai were affected by the disruption to global supply chains, constrained cargo capacity, broken links, and the world trade decline. But the industry adapted quickly to meet the global demand for service continuity. Industry players re-purposed the fleet capacities and re-engineered their operations to accommodate the shifting trade and consumer patterns during the most challenging circumstances.
Companies had to embrace innovative methods to help overcome difficulties and maintain operations.
One significant trigger was the global surge in e-commerce activity, imposed social distancing measures, and curfews that caused a mass switch to online shopping. Traditional brick-and-mortar brands would begin experimenting with restructuring product offerings to meet new consumer demands, even if they had to go digital and sell online, explore the direct-to-consumer model, or work creatively to take an experience-based business into people’s home.
During the covid surge, logistics companies in Dubai became even more of a necessity for online merchants and will continue to be essential for their business survival. This pandemic may accelerate the e-commerce boom during the growing globalization level.
The healthcare system suffered a significant loss and immediate demand for critical supplies. The timely provision of medical products was disrupted because of the lockdown and air freight, and that showed that there is still much work to be done to improve the medical products supply chain.
