While some sectors are completely at a standstill in the Netherlands due to the Corona virus (COVID-19), pressure in other sectors is increasing enormously. For example, take the retail sector, because of the ‘hamster’ behavior makes it look like a busy Christmas period. Everyone’s priority, of course, is safety and health.

With the priority on health and safety, it is important that various sectors can continue to operate optimally. This also applies to the entire retail logistics chain. Last Friday (13 March), supermarket chain Jumbo had a turnover that was 65% higher than a normal Friday. In addition to the higher turnover, the use of trucks and the number of rides also went up considerably. Not only Jumbo, but also Albert Heijn supermarket set all sails and is running at full speed with all distribution centres and stores. The call to the consumer was therefore: “You can help us by shopping as you normally do”. However, this is still not the case until today.

Order in the chaos

As a retail company you are often responsible for the entire chain management of packaging. It is therefore very important to be able to register the packaging properly and quickly. You need to have your packaging at the right place of destination at the right time and back again on time. In addition, it is important not to lose your packaging and to be aware of damaged packaging. It is now especially necessary to prevent chaos like that. With this pressure we want to contribute by supporting our customers as much as possible within our area. We support our customers in providing an overview of their logistics processes. In this period we have also taken measures at Bexter, but we strive for continuity in our packaging registration system, service and support.

Here are a few tips on how to get control in the logistics process as a retail company:

  • Know where your packaging is; the hustle and bustle can cause you to lose the overview. By managing and registering your packaging online, you always know how many trolleys/carts/crates are where.
  • Online administration; avoid the paperwork. Search in paper stacks for that one (packaging) transaction receipt, while it’s busy and you have a lot on your mind? You should be able to do that differently! And you can, with an online platform.
  • Make the communication line(s) short; Calling in these times can be rather noisy or unclear. So keep the communication line short and talk in real time via the chat. This way you can read things back and you don’t have to deal with callback requests and voicemails.
  • Transparent; By providing insight into mutual transactions, each party knows where they stand. Share online data with each other, so you can collaborate transparently with your relationship(s).
  • One language. When everyone is looking at the same data in the same system, everyone speaks the same language and any possible mistakes (by parties) can be traced quickly. This avoids discussions. With an online registration platform you can invite your relations and share data!

Finally, we are proud of all the people with vital jobs, but also pay tribute to all transporters, supermarkets and everyone who makes it possible for us to continue shopping!