As Victoria gradually eased its coronavirus lockdown restrictions and life began to somewhat approximate ‘normal’ as it was, recent spikes in infections quickly upset any hopes of an early recovery. Unfortunate as it may be, it hasn’t stopped the wheels turning for freight companies, many of which have taken on a new role during the pandemic - medical logistics.
Diversification of Suppliers and Freight Companies
Even before the pandemic started, many large corporations in Australia and worldwide have adapted their supply chains to become less reliant on one single supplier or freight company. Diversification, as with the stock market and many other facets of life, is critical should your main source go out of business or become inaccessible.
That’s a reality for many businesses in Victoria in July 2020. With new restrictions put in place and interstate travel essentially off-limits to residents of Victoria (and, in some cases such as Tasmania, anyone who has been through Victoria recently), business owners require diversification more than ever.
Shift in Delivery Demand
In normal times, our customers ship goods and services of all kinds to businesses of all kinds. It’s the free market in action, and the end result is that Australians are able to buy products from across our great country and from abroad.
With everyone (in Victoria, and Melbourne in particular) locked down and only permitted to travel under strict conditions, e.g. grocery shopping, the demand for many once-popular goods and products has shifted drastically.
One noticeable and obvious shift is the spike in demand for reliable, timely, and cost-effective logistics solutions for medical supplies and equipment. If you require medical supplies such as masks, visors, ventilators, hand sanitiser, or more of the same due to increased overall hospitalisations, for example, you’ll want to ensure that your logistics provider can do so safely.
Moreover, following on the previous section, you must ensure that your logistics provider can legally operate within Victoria and won’t get turned back at the border.
State of Interstate Travel
As of 24 July 2020, strict border measures have been implemented by every state and territory (except for Northern Territory, where Victorians are strongly encouraged not to travel but technically are not outright banned).
In mid-July 2020, lockdown restrictions in Melbourne and across Victoria began to ease. Hope and the opportunity of business starting up again was unfortunately dashed. There is no way of telling at this point in time when the borders will begin to gradually ease travel restrictions.
Consequently, it may be best not to make any predictions and instead follow updates from the Victoria Government before attempting to engage in interstate freight trade or logistics activities in other states or territories. For the moment, consider hiring logistics companies that are local in Victoria and are willing and able to provide freight brokerage within Victoria for the time being.
Freight People
The team at Freight People are working hard to provide value to businesses and the medical sector within Victoria during these difficult times. There are many challenges at the moment and there will likely be more challenges going forward, but we will endeavour to play our role in providing top-value freight and logistics services as well as providing medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and care centres.
Enquire about our services and contact us if you’d like to know more about how we can be of assistance.