The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the supply chains across the globe. Many countries had to slow down or temporarily pause their production and distribution during the 1st quarter of this year.
As of May 14th, countless businesses have already pulled down their shutters temporarily. However, wholesale food distributors and suppliers seem to be having no time to pace down.
Surged Demand for Grocery Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
With more people sheltering in place and eating at home, grocery demand is skyrocketing without a stop. According to a recent report by Neilson, non-perishable grocery items have seen a demand surge of about 84 percent since February 29th.
This increase in demand is having a ripple effect on food manufacturing, wholesale food distribution, purchasing frequency of grocery retailers, in-store buying, and deliveries and takeaways.
Why Food Suppliers and Distribution Companies Need to Amp up Their Businesses?
If the wholesale food distribution lags, the later industries in the foodservice sector will suffer. Retailers won’t be left with stock to sell in-store or to deliver. To maintain equilibrium, food suppliers need to utilize every tool to upgrade their business operations.
What’s in Store for Food Suppliers After the Coronavirus?
Wholesale food distribution tycoons like Amazon are predicting that the demand will continue to rise in the coming weeks and maybe months. Food suppliers need to integrate state-of-the-art order management systems that can manage all the order-related data and leverage it to predict the supply needs for the future. This will help suppliers in determining their production needs, resulting in fast productions and timely deliveries to their retail customers.
A proactive approach will prove to be beneficial for the food suppliers and their customers—from retail grocery stores to the end consumers.
Food Suppliers Must Brace Themselves for the Post-Coronavirus Demand
When it comes, food supplying and distribution, most decisions must be taken on an urgent basis. However, this pandemic will have strong effects in the long run, and food suppliers need to prepare themselves. The Neilson report studied the changes in consumer behavior based on the data collected from China and South Korea and proposed a six-part model. The report revealed that people are currently in the 4th phase of preparing themselves to live in quarantine—which means that they are stocking up on non-perishable food items.
Once coronavirus spread is contained, they will move on to the 5th phase of the model where they’ll consume all that they have stocked up.
When the panic recedes, consumers will shift to the last phase where they’ll start “living a new normal.” According to the report, in this phase, retail customers and consumers will retain certain purchasing behaviors from the coronavirus era as a way of pandemic preparedness in the future. These purchasing behaviors include stocking grocery items, online shopping, takeaways, and doorstep deliveries.
Partner With Reliable Software to Secure a Bright Business Future
If you’re a food supplier, you need to integrate a powerful and trusted online order management software in your business that can make your order processing and fulfillment processes seamless and smooth—like OrderTron.
Connect with us today to get started!