Many months have passed since the COVID-19 outbreak started, every aspect of our living has been changed to preserve our safety, but also, to give us the suitable conditions to continue with our normal basis.
Governors, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), have developed severalconditions and regulation to stop the spreading of the virus, but also to allow people to do their jobs in the safest way possible.
Speaking of the cargo industry, the lockdowns and movement restriction have affected the entire supply chain, causing massive losses for the shippers. The new challenge facing the cargo industry is to continue with the work to minimize these losses, while protecting people’s lives.
It could take months or years to normalize the situation, but for now we must adapt to the new way of living. In this article, we want to give you some advice on how to manage your cargo during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Keep in mind the state of your cargo
As we said before, the entire cargo industry supply chain has been affected by the outbreak, so it is important to investigate the state of your cargo and verify if it is in a good condition.
If your cargo is in storage, you need to consult the general state of the warehouse: if the protection system is operative, the fire and anti-intrusion alarms are operative and if the humidity and temperature levels are optimal to your goods. If your merchandise is perishable, you need to be extra careful with the correct store management of your goods to prevent its deterioration and a potential loss.
Consult the transportation
With the lockdowns of the countries, there have been a lot of delays in the shipment schedule, increasing the cost of storage and the potential damage of accumulation cargo on the warehouse. On the other hand, some shippers offer you the possibility of deviation as an alternative to accomplish the shipment schedule.
Evaluate these two scenarios and decide what benefits you prefer and minimize the potential of a loss. Whether you want to maintain your goods store or take the alternative route to complete the shipment, consult your cargo insurer about the coverage that your goods have.
Implement a good hygiene and disinfection plan
To prevent the spreading of the virus on the cargo industry, every step of the supply chain need to follow a serial of hygiene and disinfection plan. The WHO gives us some recommendations that we must follow to protect yourself and others.
- The use of masks is vital to stop the speeding of the virus.
- Wash your hands with soap and water every 3 hours, when there is visible dirt or when you touch a surface.
- Disinfect all your work implements with at least 60% alcohol.
- If you receive your cargo, perform a disinfection plan on every item. Later on disinfect the workplace and finally yourself.
- As a worker, if you feel sick, stay at home.
Communication is a must to successfully reactivate the economy, consult to your freight forwarder and cargo insurer about the state of your cargo and some recommendation to protect it. In Cargo Care Services we constantly monitor the outbreak situation and we help you to prevent any damages or losses that may affect you.