In addition, every shift starts with a meeting reminding
employees of the government-recommended safety mea-
sures and other precautions the company has put in place.
Employee reaction has been reassuring, Hammond says.
“People are, overall, reacting very, very well, and we need
to keep repeating, repeating, repeating” these messages,
Hammond adds. “But people are scared. So we have to keep
reminding them why we are considered essential; we have
to keep reminding them what we do here [every day].”
Material handling systems integrator Vargo Solutions is
fielding requests from customers
about how to implement similar
social distancing protocols, accord-
ing to Art Eldred, the company’s
client executive for system sales.
He says Vargo’s customers, whichinclude firms that operate warehouses and distribution centers ina range of industries, are figuringout how to retool their layouts toadd space between workstations while also accommodatingthe need for more frequent equipment cleaning. He saysthe biggest challenge for some is making employees feelcomfortable enough to come to work. Especially in theearly days of the crisis, some employees were not showingup to work, making it difficult to keep production running.
He says companies are responding with incentives such as
hourly bonuses and paid time off.
“Everyone is getting creative to get people to come into
work,” Eldred explains.
XPO has added pandemic paid sick leave to its U.S.and Canadian benefits packages, giving affected full-timeemployees up to 80 hours of additional sick leave on top ofstandard annual paid time off, Hammond says. The company is also giving up to three days of 100% pay continuationif a facility is closed temporarily for deep cleaning or sanitation, and is offering free counseling sessions for all U.S.employees and their dependents via its employee assistanceprogram.
E-COMMERCE BACKLOGS, RISING DELIVERY
DEMANDS
As more people stay home, online ordering and demandfor home delivery are increasing, creating order backlogs and putting pressure on delivery methods—in manycases, among companies that were just beginning to get ahandle on their e-commerce and omnichannel businessstrategies over the last couple of years. Eldred says manye-commerce customers are experiencing order backlogs,some significantly.
As a result, businesses are scrambling to accommodate
an increased need for last-mile delivery—especially small
businesses, according to George Schegolev, vice president of
operations for Route4Me, a New Jersey-based route optimi-
zation software provider. Schegolev says the company has
seen increased interest in its product—which helps firms
plan last-mile delivery routes—from small independent
grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants who want to stay
up and running and keep people employed during the pan-
demic. Schegolev adds that the pandemic is creating behav-
ior changes that will only accelerate demand for last-mile
delivery and notes that Route4Me
is offering tutorials via video con-
ferencing service Zoom to help get
companies up to speed.
“Businesses need to adapt to
more deliveries because behaviors
are changing,” Schegolev says. “And
many are saying they don’t know
how to do it. Our tool is just one
small piece of the puzzle … it’s a
complicated journey and we just want to support commu-
nities and people throughout these difficult times.”
The extra tutorials are a cost for Route4Me, but Schegolev
says it’s a way for the firm to help address a need during the
pandemic. Route4Me has also made its service available at
no cost to federal, state, and local government agencies as
well as food banks.
HELP WANTED
Despite the difficulties, the logistics sector remains one ofthe healthier segments of the economy and is keeping manyemployed. U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid said last month itwould hire 5,000 full- and part-time employees nationwidefor both store and distribution center positions to meetcoronavirus pandemic demand. By mid-April, Amazonhad already hired 100,000 warehouse and delivery workersto accommodate a surge in orders and had announcedplans to hire 75,000 more. The National Retail Federation(NRF) reports that although many retailers have had tomake cuts to their workforce, others are hiring thousandsof workers during the current conditions. The associationis listing more than 900,000 job opportunities for workersdisplaced by the Covid- 19 pandemic via a dedicated pageon its website.
XPO’s Hammond underscores the growing need for
supply chain workers by pointing to a new motto the trans-
portation and logistics provider is using throughout the
organization: “Together we can.”
“From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank [these
workers] enough,” she says. “In XPO, we’re calling them
our everyday heroes.” n
