COVID-19 Diaries: What I’m hearing from supply chain leaders

The other day, I posted a blog about a recent experience I’d had with a delivery service. The short version: I bought an elliptical machine and an exercise bike on a Sunday; arranged and paid for white glove delivery into my workout room plus assembly on Monday; only to have it cancelled on Tuesday. The delivery service was no longer willing to enter consumer’s homes. I didn’t post the blog to be critical of anyone, or to lodge a personal gripe: As I wrote in the piece, I get it. Companies are making difficult choices between the wants of their customers and the health of their workers. It’s the reason I didn’t call out the retailer or the delivery service. Since posting that piece, I started noticing that FedEx, USPS and UPS are no longer dropping off my online orders on my back porch, as they have for years. They’re leaving them on the porch steps, even in the pouring rain. Again, I get it.

The day after I posted that article, I got an email from Doug Ladden, the CEO of Deliveright, a white glove delivery service and a competitor of the firm delivering my exercise equipment. Half in jest - only half in jest - I asked Ladden if I could schedule assembly of my equipment with his firm. Nada - he’s limiting his service to curbside delivery too. I also asked if I could share his email with my readers. Below is what he had to say. Meanwhile, if you’re a supply chain manager, I’d love to hear from you on how your company is coping with procurement, order fulfillment and delivery in very trying times.  

Bob: A friend forwarded your article to me and I wanted to send along a few thoughts. First, your understanding/appreciation of logistics makes you an ideal (and rare!) customer. Second, your reaction shows that you can find something that is disappointing to also be interesting and have broader implications for many other people. With that backdrop, I wanted to put Deliveright on your radar. We deliver furniture and exercise equipment throughout the US, and COVID-19 is causing us to rethink our procedures and how we communicate these changes.

Recently, one of our delivery teams called in to say that a customer had informed them that he was positive for Coronavirus. We rescheduled the delivery, but it drove home the point that we needed new approaches to keep our teams safe, as well as the customers those teams will deliver to in the future.

Yes, all of our clerical people are working from home now, and yes we have switched all deliveries to Threshold and will only resume White Glove service when it is safe. But communicating the new normal to all customers is almost as important as actually making these changes. Also, what do the retailers and eCommerce sites do to warn customers that White Glove delivery is currently not an option, and if it is, how safe can that be? 

We’re hopeful that a few months from now life will have returned to its normal rhythms, but nothing can be taken for granted. Although many of our teammates are happy to avoid commuting, we do miss out on the benefits of in-person contact and idea generation/problem solving.

The impact on customers remains to be seen. One scenario to consider is that people are spending a lot of time at home and are more likely to get tired of some existing furniture. If orders stay at recent levels or anywhere close, while deliveries get pushed out until White Glove is available again, a lot of furniture will be sitting in warehouses. The system will start to choke if delivery volume decreases.

Those are just a few thoughts I wanted to share with a fellow quarantine-mate. Strangely, all of us sitting at home are in this together.

Wishing you good health.

Doug Ladden, CEO, Deliveright