The global supply chain is an essential part of the world’s economy, and it has many benefits for both businesses and buyers. The most important benefit is the lowered costs for companies as a result of going global. It is also easier for such companies that are global to sell to customers around the world, however, numerous factors must come together to make a global supply chain successful.
The impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains
The vast and rapid spread of the coronavirus has put a significant strain on most industries globally, such as manufacturing and supply chains, which caused considerable damages in both the short and long term.
The main negative impact has been the availability and supply of a wide range of raw materials, intermediate goods, and finished products being disrupted. Many recent studies have shown that COVID-19 has impacted a wide range of global supply chains and their mechanics, especially pharmaceuticals, food, electronics and automotive industries.
Comparing with other previous significant disruptions, the virus has adversely impacted the global logistics and supply chain management throughout all their stages.
The primary industries that have been affected
Overall, the industries with the most significant adverse impacts were manufacturing, processing, transport, and logistics. These industries are currently feeling a significant shift in demand, as well.
With this in mind, it is evident that companies must analyse supply chains to mitigate against future disruptions, which are very likely to keep on happening. Another important aspect is that global politics and national policies will significantly influence the future of supply chain structures.
However, there are many solutions that these industries can adopt to deal with change in useful ways. An effective and practical solution would be investing in technology and considerations on sustainability in supply chain management.
How companies in all industries are dealing with COVID-19
Considering that the COVID-19 has drastically changed the business environment, this event has highlighted the importance of reacting, adapting, and setting up various mechanisms to deal with uncertainty.
Due to the many restrictions and the repetitive lockdowns, various urgent situations required immediate attention, the reason why many companies are now in a strong “recovery mode”. For example, the automotive supply chains across China have been identified as the most vulnerable industries due to operating to large production schedules.
The most certain thing is that at the moment, the supply chain managers all around the world must find short, medium and long-term solutions to assess and tackle the potential impacts of COVID-19 at all stages in the supply chain management. The key here is to adopt a holistic approach and make sure that many different perspectives and solutions are considered.
How can electric tow tugs provide efficient manual handling solutions for the global supply chain management industry?
Over the past decades, there have been many discussions around optimising supply chains that focused primarily on cost efficiency and commercial best outcomes. Such decisions (amongst many others) must consider that demand patterns may look completely different moving forward.
Cost-effectiveness
In terms of cost-efficiency, electric tow tugs are an efficient and cost-effective manual handling solution for many global supply chain management industries. This is simply because these compact & ergonomic electric pull and push tugs require only one staff member to operate, thus making the entire process a lot quicker, as they are coupled with the speed and ease of training, allowing all staff to use. This will significantly reduce the average time spent on manual handling for companies, allowing the workforce to handle other urgent day-to-day tasks.
Also, electric tow tugs don’t require extensive maintenance, when compared to forklift trucks.
Versatility and adaptability
Especially during such uncertain times, having the right equipment and manual handling technology can significantly improve a company’s overall efficiency in delivering its products and services to its consumers.
Our electric tow tugs are manufactured in the UK, through our in-house design team, and they’ve been built whilst understanding the exact requirements of businesses, to provide the best solutions possible. With this in mind, we provide many couplings and hitches engineered to allow the use of existing trolleys, cages and jigs when using our electric tow tugs.
No matter the problem that industries face, whether it is distributing products or moving raw materials, having a MotorMover means that the jobs can become much easier to do. This, in turn, will greatly improve the operational efficiency in the workplace.
For example, we have a great article on the many benefits of using electric tow tugs in the aerospace industry if you would like to delve deeper into this industry.
Improved control over facilities
Having better logistics will, in turn, create better control, which means increased efficiency and productivity across the entire workforce. WIth pedestrian electric tow tugs, companies can have a leaner assembly with visibility at every stage of the production cycle.
In this way, errors can be greatly minimised, yields are increased, and the staff is safe at all times, whilst using a forklift alternative that works.
This also means lower waste in the workplace. Electric tow tugs are a powerful automotive material handling solution, and with their help, businesses can meet quick turnaround times a lot easier, which is very important when it comes to customer demand.
We have another great blog on the difference between forklifts and electric tow tugs if you want to find out more about the benefits of using electric tow tugs that your business could reap.
Conclusion
Considering people have never had more choices when it comes to consuming whilst all industries face significant disruptions, it’s obvious how improved technology could greatly benefit businesses and consumers.
Every touchpoint with an end-user must be focused on providing excellent products and services. With this in mind, quality and speed are becoming as important as pricing when purchasing goods and services. And this is precisely where electric tow tugs come in handy!
Radically changing an existing supply chain is not as easy as it may sound, however, creating a robust and secure supply chain management system can be less tricky if done correctly!
If you are looking to make the switch to an electric tow tug or simply want to add a few electric tow tugs into your business, MotorMover can help! Electric tow tugs are widely beneficial in many industries such as aerospace, automotive, logistics, food and beverage, manufacturing and healthcare industries to name a few. If you want to find out more about how the MotorMover electric tow tugs can optimise your operations, contact our friendly team today. You can also give us a quick call on 0116 232 8799 because a simple, scalable solution is just a few clicks away!
