Virus teaching hard lessons about supply chains

Arguably, Canadians have never heard more about supply chains than during this pandemic. Discussions about logistics and how food gets to restaurants, grocery stores and kitchens abound. Canadians are not only genuinely interested in supply chains, but they are also commending the people involved in making our food systems work, from farm to fork. Outstanding.

But the journey hasn’t been perfect. Empty shelves, lineups, long queues when ordering food online have made some people nervous. As such, British Columbia recently gave itself the authority to take over supply chains for delivering essential goods and services throughout the province. In other words, the province believes it can do a better job at logistics than companies such as Costco, Amazon and Walmart. This could become a problem for Canada’s food security if little or no national or international oversight is provided.

Since the beginning of this crisis, everyone in the public and private spheres has acknowledged, time and time again, that these are unprecedented times. Governments have taken steps to manage public health risks the best they possibly can. For the most part, their work has been amazing. But supply chains are not something bureaucrats are qualified to fully understand, especially nowadays. When someone is not involved with the mechanics of supply chains daily, blind spots can be overwhelming for the uneducated eye. Given the current pandemic climate, most of those in government are inundated with the complex challenges caused by COVID-19. Thus governments barely have any capacity to fully take on the supply chains.

Regardless, B.C.’S move is not surprising. Empty shelves were seen in many places, which likely prompted the government to move on this issue. Many experts claim panic buying and hoarding occurred largely due to the psychological effect of seeing the entire globe dealing with a pandemic. Unusual sights of empty shelves, lineups and people wearing masks prompted many to fear the worst: the country was running out of food and products.

Perhaps also contributing to this massive hysteria of hoarding food is the fact that most Canadians have lost the art of food and menu planning. An era during which convenience dictates most facets of our daily lives, most Canadians have no idea how to plan for food. Most mornings, many Canadians have no clue what they will be eating for dinner that evening, let alone over the course of one or two weeks. Today, the inability for many to appreciate what two weeks’ worth of food looks like will influence behaviour in a grocery store, especially in times of crisis.

But Canadians, and other consumers in the western world, by virtue of our new reality to keep us safe, are slowly learning. Consumers are walking into a grocery store with an accurate selfawareness of discipline centric buying and civic responsibility. So, the worst is likely behind us.

But a province opting to control supply chains will raise concerns about local patchwork or competing government-controlled supply chains. Some supply chains are already public, which can lead to conflicting priorities. What also needs to be recognized is that few goods flow simply within a provincial topography. National, and most desirably, international co-ordination is critical. For B.C. to unilaterally move forward with such a policy can be detrimental to the true optimization of supply chains and could set a terrible precedent.

Alberta, Ontario and Quebec could be next. A case can be made for medical equipment and sanitary products, but food distribution requires the private sector to play a central role in creating a sound equilibrium between supply and demand. If all provinces and states opt to do the same thing, national and international co-ordination is possible but will require the support and expertise of the private sector. Many companies in food distribution have gained the ability to develop efficient logistical models, despite international borders. Companies where the core competencies are supply chains and logistics have been able to transcend borders to better serve markets all over the world.