DHL: Supply Chains Need to Make Important Changes Now to Adjust in Post-Coronavirus World

Supply chains adjusting to the shifting impacts of the current pandemic are currently in a "pre-new normal" stage of recovery and will have to make important changes to sourcing, transportation and warehousing networks during this phase to survive in a post-coronavirus world, according to a DHL whitepaper released Thursday. The paper notes that as countries, and regions within countries, begin to reopen at different rates, ramping up the supply chain to pre-pandemic levels all at once will be impossible. Therefore, "Achieving transparency of the entire supply chain will be key as soon as possible," Klaus Dohrmann, VP for sector development engineering, manufacturing and energy for DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation, told Supply Chain Dive via email. Transparency, investing in digital transformation, and identifying alternate supply and distribution channels are key to shoring up organizations during this "pre-new normal" phase, according to the report. Once those efforts are in place and the pandemic begins to resolve, firms should think about more long term geographic or business model realignments.