Many of us take for granted that when we order something online, it will arrive in two to three days at the most. There will be virtually no delays until 2021, when the ongoing supply chain crisis sweeps across the globe. It was triggered by a variety of reasons, including a global pandemic, efforts to minimize labor and freight costs, and an inability to cope with sudden changes in production and inventory patterns.
It is easy for the end consumer to order something from Amazon and wait at home. In this document, the item ordered is a simple everyday USB charger. They tracked every step of his 14,000-mile journey to uncover what happened behind the scenes, from leaving a factory halfway around the world to arriving at your door.
When the global COVID-19 outbreak hit in 2020, the company expected a drop in demand for its products. However, the opposite happened, with people buying record amounts of electronics, exercise equipment, and more. However, we are all starting to experience delivery delays or extra payment to receive goods on priority, mainly due to lack of staff and many logistical restrictions due to Covid restrictions. For example, many empty containers are stuck in blocked ports and cannot be shipped back to China, China quickly stockpiled a lot of goods that it couldn’t ship.
Your USB charger is commissioned at a Vietnam factory, loaded into a shipping container, and loaded onto a ship that will cross the Pacific Ocean and arrive in the US within 20 to 30 days. These cargo ships are already huge, carrying more than 10,000 containers, but there are only 20 crew members to operate the ship. You have to make sure that all the containers arrive and don’t fall into the sea in bad weather, as this could spell disaster for companies that are counting on their cargo to arrive.
When it arrives at the port, dock workers unload it and organize long-haul truck collection for delivery to retailers. It used to take two to three days to process an entire ship, but today it can take up to two weeks. The trucking industry is also facing a critical shortage of drivers. Drivers work more than 14 hours and are paid per trip/km. The future of the industry does not look promising as the average age of truck drivers is also increasing year by year.
Eventually, your USB charger reaches an eCommerce fulfillment center or warehouse, and despite all the automation and robotics deployed to improve efficiency, human labor is still required. Unfortunately, they were paid a little less, and the job was physically demanding.
For the ongoing effort to reduce supply chain disruptions to be successful, many countries and industries must work together to find solutions. However, the uncertainty created by the ongoing war, ongoing Covid and continued surge in demand suggests that the current crisis could extend into 2023 and beyond.
