What is the Role of Conveyor Systems in Keeping Supply Chains Healthy?
With global COVID-19 numbers beginning to take a downturn, countries are now directing their focus to address a major issue brought to light by the pandemic: supply chain resilience. The average layperson does not often have to think about supply chains and all the intricacies of infrastructure and trade that go into keeping them resilient. However, the recent pandemic opened many eyes up to what things would be like if our supply chains were to fail us. At Norpak Handling, we have been at the forefront of innovative material handling solutions for decades, and we believe that advanced conveyor systems will play a crucial role in keeping Canadian supply chains healthy.
As the world continues to change, conveyor systems must also evolve technologically to consistently serve supply chains.
What are supply chains?
First, let us address what supply chains actually are and what they are for.
A supply chain refers to the system of organizations, people, processes and resources involved in supplying a product or service to consumers, from resource processing to manufacturing to delivery.
As you can imagine, this is a complex process, but over the years, these processes have become so finely tuned that consumers barely thought about them anymore--until the pandemic.
The pandemic exposed three key problems with our supply chains:
- Early on, demand for specific goods rose so sharply that many manufacturers were not able to keep up.
- Even when manufacturers were able to supply goods, border restrictions sometimes meant that goods could not be delivered on time or at all.
- As people began to embrace the new normal, e-commerce began to flourish and many businesses had to pivot operations to cater to a new kind of environment.
Failure to address these problems will mean that we have supply chains that are not resilient.
What can conveyor systems do to help?
It is important to note that not just any conveyor system, but rather advanced and adaptable conveyor systems, are needed to help Canadian businesses do their part to achieve resiliency for the economy.
As providers of material handling solutions, it is our responsibility to continually source the best new conveyor technologies that can help businesses speed up processes, make processes more reliable, make operations more hygienic and sanitized and make delivery and shipping as efficient as they can be.
Manufacturers like Hytrol, for instance, continue to develop better ways to automate key processes through renowned software solutions like EZLogic, which is why we at Norpak Handling make sure to deliver their industry-changing solutions to businesses in Canada.
Conveyor systems should be thought of as the veins of the economy. If one of them is clogged or not functioning properly, the entire environment will lag and can even shut down. It is vital that every business in Canada is outfitted with the right conveyor system to solidify their participation in the future economy.
