Spotlight on Supply Chain Resilience with Geodis

By: Laura Anne Danaraj

Like a series of precariously upright dominoes, when one facet of the supply chain is exposed to threat, the entire network becomes vulnerable… and just like that, many organizations scrambled to navigate the unexpected disruptions and remodel their supply networks in the wake of Covid-19.

One thing that was clear; many needed a better understanding of their supply base, their distribution and logistics operations - a clear differentiator in gaining a competitive advantage and financial rewards.

Geodis, a leader in the global transport and logistics industry, came out on top at the recent?CIPS Asia Supply Management Awards 2021 . The team in India rose up to the challenge in a swift and meticulous manner despite an immediate nation-wide lockdown to ensure businesses continue seamlessly and safely. Geodis impressed the judges with their best practices, solutions and outcomes. It was clear they would be in a lose-lose situation if they had not stepped up their service level to improve their supply chain lines.?

In this month’s spotlight, we speak with the team at Geodis Supply Chain Optimization, APAC. The team, comprising Terence Lee, Chief Procurement Officer APAC and Shivakumar Deshinamorthy , Process Excellence Manager APAC provide some inputs on their thoughts on the struggles, innovative approaches and processes in response to the lockdown, lessons learnt and of course winning such a prestigious award.?

Q: Firstly, could you tell us more about the challenges faced with the onset of an immediate nation-wide lockdown in May 2020?

When India first announced the lockdown with less than a 24-hour notice, it did not allow much opportunity for the management & operational staff to make any arrangements with our suppliers and partners. Their offices too were forced shut and there was no movement or business activities allowed for anything deemed non-essential. Even when certain requests were made to these suppliers or partners, there was uncertainties such as if it was legal to carry out certain work processes amidst the lockdown. The new rules were unclear with many roadblocks throughout the states and major restrictions at ports and railways. It was challenging to contact the suitable government officials and intermediary logistics-related officials to get the various permits and clearances, when the modus operandi was for the authorities to say “No movements at all!”

Q: What were the innovative approaches and processes Geodis took to meet customer requirements to continue current business processes as well as to assist customer with providing acute logistical support to make possible for the Work from Home (WFH) model to be effective and productive?

We stepped up our service levels in the Logistics 4-PL space and came up with innovative solutions and processes to meet customer requirements and delivered the shipments successfully to the recipients across India through:

• Immediate and daily communication to customers and key stakeholders that we were in control of the situation by providing necessary timely updates. This was critical in keeping our customers calm and confident that through our firm professionalism, that we would do whatever it takes to provide the best efforts to meet the requirements of our customers.
• Our crisis-management personnel and BCP protocols were rolled out to manage the various risks that were evolving, including possible widespread infections within a certain department, disabled internet accessibility and infrastructures such as power supplies and highways. We continually ensured our workforce was safe and meeting the staffing needs at various key process link points, with the ability to continue communicating timely to ensure deliveries for our customers.
• Modifying and streamlining business processes to save time and to operate effectively in the uncertain scenarios which was expected in the days to come.
• The right messaging to our key suppliers, who were cooperating with us in providing the services for the movements, as well as the authorities, who held the decision-making rights to allow cargoes to pass through. The messaging had to be crafted with high level of precision and detail to highlight the true urgency and necessity of our movements of equipment to the various locations, many of which had to travel inter-state as well.

This article continues with more interview questions and insights over on our the full article over at ProcureCon Asia.

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Do you have your own success story to tell? The CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards is accepting submission till March 4, find out more about entering the awards here .