The Global logistics industry quickly had to rise to the challenges of COVID-19 and transform the way they work, and this transformation will need to continue. Shipment volumes have increased, while companies also have to protect and shield their staff and customers from catching the virus.
During the early stages of the pandemic, the business-to-business logistics market almost came to a standstill. Supply chains were seriously disrupted and new regulations were rapidly introduced. Alternatively, the business to consumer market has exploded as with all shops closed, people in lockdown turned to the internet to make their purchases. Logistic companies had to quickly fast track their growth and development strategies, while many quickly expanded to a seven days a week operation, made significant investments in e-commerce, and people and assets had to cope with demand.
Transforming the logistics industry
Logistics companies have stepped up to the challenge of making deliveries safer for employees and customers. Contactless last-mile solutions have been crucial to the industry’s COVID-19 response. The last mile typically constitutes around 30% of the cost so optimising that element is critical. The use of drones making deliveries is starting to emerge, however these are subject to local laws and regulations and take up is relatively slow. The use of smart locker solutions for safe, convenient, contactless pick-ups is significantly growing. Interestingly, in Asia they are particularly advanced when it comes to the logistics industry. You can order a product online and it gets to your house within 2 hours. Maybe Europe and the US will see these kind of advancements in years to come.
Finding talent post COVID-19
Since moving out of lockdown, optimism is starting to emerge for employers looking for new assignments / orders.
The main focus of a logistics worker is on the transportation, distribution, and storage of goods and materials. The way to be able to meet business targets is to keep the supply chain highly efficient. This ensures production quotas are met and that products are delivered to customers.
Many companies are making the most of experienced workers that are available and ready to work after having lost their job in the pandemic, a task that would have been more difficult earlier in the year with lower unemployment rates. Many logistics and supply chain organisations are seeing more hiring activity within essential industries, for example the production and distribution of personal protective equipment, hand sanitiser, cleaning products, and groceries.
A flexible workforce and hiring highly qualified staff on contract basis can be a quick and efficient solution to deal with an immediate uptake in orders and fulfil demand. In the current international logistics and distribution industry there is a high demand for supply chain managers, logistics operators, distribution systems managers, warehouse managers, delivery and lorry drivers and warehouse pickers. Some of Europe’s largest logistic companies are DB Schenker in Germany but there is also the internationally well-known DHL, GLS, Parcel Service and Hermes.
Alessa Oldini, client services executive at TCP says –
The worldwide pandemic has been forcing some industries to their knees and facilitated others to thrive. One of those thriving industries right now is the logistics industry. Well-known global logistics giants, as well as new or smaller local logistics companies, are re-evaluating their stance in the market and many of them are expanding on a global scale. This has been mirrored in my experience of working with international companies, on-boarding employees with any background in Germany. Due to certain Visa and Blue Card restrictions, some cases may be more complicated than others, but yet we have been able to find a compliant solution every time, customized to the needs of our clients. The logistics industry is booming and we are enjoying working with our logistics, supply chain and distribution clients.
How TCP can help
If you are a contractor working in the logistics and distributions industry, or an agency or end client hiring contractors within that industry then we can help. If you are hiring remote contractors, which is particularly popular within this current climate then that is also no problem for us.
Hiring contractors who live in a different country will come with its own complexities as local employment and tax laws must be met. When a company doesn’t have a registered entity in the country where the employee will be working, TCP’s locally registered companies can act as the employer of record and manage the payroll according to local legislation, allowing TCP to manage the risks involved.
TCP operate in 8 countries across Europe and with partners worldwide. Take a look at the countries we operate in here .
If you are interested in expanding in Germany and would like to enquire about German AUG-solutions, please feel free to get in touch with: Alessa.oldoni@tcpsolutions.com
Would you like to find out more? Call our UK office on: 0044 20 85 800 800 or fill in our contact us form here and a member of our sales team will get back to you as soon as possible.
