REPORT Trends and changes in the post-covid FMCG Industry

40% ya las ha implantado o está en proceso de implementarlas y el 60% restante lo hará a corto plazo.

La reducción de material de embalaje es la iniciativa en la que actualmente un mayor número de empresas está trabajando y la que cuenta con un mayor porcentaje de éxito de implantación (96%), mientras que el análisis de la huella de carbono de la cadena de suministro es la actividad que se ha desarrollado con mayor frecuencia.

En cuanto al índice de éxito en las implementaciones, la media se sitúa en el 85,5%, un índice superior al de otras iniciativas no relacionadas con la sostenibilidad pero en el que todavía queda cierto margen de mejora. Si nos fijamos en Europa, este porcentaje crece. En esta zona más del 80% de las empresas ha realizado un estudio para conocer su huella de carbono, por ejemplo. También se distingue la preferencia por reducir el impacto ambiental sobre la producción (89% de empresas) frente a la reducción sobre el transporte (60% de empresas). La realidad es que las empresas priorizan aquellas medidas relacionadas con la sostenibilidad que, además de suponer una mejora para el medio ambiente, incrementan también el nivel de eficiencia y/o los costes de la compañía.

AUTOMATIZACIÓN: EL NIVEL DE AUTOMATIZACIÓN SIGUE SIENDO VARIABLE SEGÚN LAS ÁREAS IMPLICADAS.

El principal foco de las empresas sigue estando, según refleja el estudio, en automatizar procesos en el área de almacenaje. “Esto no es ninguna novedad y es una tendencia ya observada desde los años 90 y con beneficios contrastados”, señala el informe. El proceso menos automatizado, en tanto, es la carga y descarga de camiones, ya que los sistemas automáticos en este ámbito solo sirven para casos concretos, como por ejemplo transporte de productos entre fábricas, en cuyo caso se requieren camiones especiales no aptos para otras operaciones habituales. Los sistemas más flexibles también existen, pero no cuentan con el mismo nivel de madurez ni están tan consolidados. “Si comparamos los resultados de automatización actuales con los de hace dos años, vemos que según los participantes se ha producido un incremento del picking de cajas automático del 11%. Esto se debe a que los pedidos cada vez están más fragmentados y requieren más niveles de picking. El grado de automatización previsto en el área del picking unitario también ha crecido en los últimos años (9%), pese a que está operativa sigue desarrollándose de forma muy manual (43%). Esto es debido a que los volúmenes de picking unitario no son lo suficientemente elevados como para justificar una inversión rentable”, se desprende como conclusión en el estudio.

OMNICANALIDAD: MÁS PROTAGONISMO DE LOS ALMACENES

Al desglosar los resultados de la encuesta realizada por la consultora, el porcentaje de empresas que están, por ejemplo, utilizando marketplaces para distribuir los productos a sus clientes es del 28%. No obstante, centrándonos en el segundo tramo de respuestas se ve que la apuesta a un futuro inmediato es hacia las entregas directas (28% contra 19%).

“La mayoría de las empresas de Gran Consumo ya cuenta con el canal de distribución directo al consumidor (D2C). Es un canal que se utiliza para probar, por ejemplo, innovaciones, packs especiales o regalos. También se usa para poder interactuar directamente con el cliente y así conocer mejor sus necesidades y preferencias. En general este canal no está pensado para hacer la competencia a los retailers y no suele representar un volumen significativo”, se señala en el informe.

Otro aspecto destacable de analizar es el interés que tienen las empresas por establecer su estrategia de distribución en base a un almacén omnicanal. “Tradicionalmente, las empresas prefieren externalizar las ventas online, pero en esta edición el 71% de las empresas participantes ha manifestado optar por un almacén omnicanal versátil que le permita centralizar todos los pedidos a diferentes canales en un mismo sitio”, sostiene el estudio. (Fuente:LOGISTEC)

TRENDS AND CHANGES IN THE POST-COVID FMCG INDUSTRY

Suddenly the world fell and logistics sustained it. He averted the impending downfall by bearing the brunt of a global crisis, with the tools at his disposal. Once the overall patient entered recovery and his economical breathing became more stable, subsequent diagnoses and relevant evaluations began to appear. Did the logistics system respond to the crisis? Could this difficult patient stay afloat with the same old traditional medicines?

An important global study by Miebach Consulting that involves 400 companies located in 40 countries, reveals the changes that the FMCG supply chain has undergone and the challenges that are being faced post-pandemic, where the field of automation and digitalization of the processes are relevant.

Companies face a new reality that forces them to transform longterm strategies and take actions that they had not planned to carry out. Here we present some results.

DIGITIZATION: AN INCREASE IN YOUR PROCESSES

74% of the companies participating in the sample established that they have prioritized the implementation of e-commerce strategies in their businesses.

In addition to the traditional challenges of supply chains such as costs and customer service, new variables are added. According to this study, there is a high consensus on the increased role of demand control and planning. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic, as a result of the instability in the processes, has deeply marked operations, generating conflicts in world production.

Digitization, automation and e-Commerce strategy are challenging areas but present great opportunities today. Digital transformation is the main objective of companies as shown by the results of this year’s study: around 75% of the participants state that they have already implemented, are implementing or plan to implement technologies related to the digital automation of processes, tracking (Track & Trace), Control Tower or Big Data analytics. All these digital technologies aim to increase the visibility of processes and thus be able to anticipate decision-making.

On the other side of the coin are the emerging technologies that, although they have made a lot of noise in the market and have created great expectations, when it comes to truth, they still do not convince companies. This is the case of blockchain technology or 3D printing, which have been on the market for some time, despite which they have a low level of implementation and have not managed to add the expected value to company processes.

Other technologies, such as digital twins, have passed the peak of oversized expectations and are now going through a moment of correction that will be followed by consolidation for very specific challenges. In general, we must wait for these technologies to be consolidated and then analyze their true potential. The most consolidated technologies were those related to data collection (Big Data Analytics, Control Towers).

The new normal after COVID-19 has highlighted the difficulty of managing a long and complex supply chain, as well as retaining staff. In this sense, digitization is a very effective tool, since it allows reducing risk when making decisions and depending to a lesser degree on the human factor. Artificial Intelligence is added to data analysis and automation technologies: companies that plan to start using AI in their processes have increased from 24% to 46% and collaborative robots have also risen considerably compared to the previous edition (15%).

SUSTAINABILITY: SLOW BUT STRONG PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY.

According to the report, companies are betting on sustainability and around 66% of the participants have planned or plan to plan actions towards a sustainable strategy that reduces their environmental impact. Of these companies, 40% have already implemented them or are in the process of implementing them and the remaining 60% will do so in the short term.

The reduction of packaging material is the initiative on which the largest number of companies are currently working and the one with the highest percentage of successful implementation (96%), while the analysis of the carbon footprint of the supply chain Supply is the activity that has been developed most frequently.

Regarding the rate of success in the implementations, the average is 85.5%, a rate higher than that of other initiatives not related to sustainability but in which there is still some room for improvement. If we look at Europe, this percentage grows. In this area, more than 80% of the companies have carried out a study to find out their carbon footprint, for example. There is also a preference for reducing the environmental impact on production (89% of companies) compared to reducing transport (60% of companies). The reality is that companies prioritize those measures related to sustainability that, in addition to improving the environment, also increase the company’s level of efficiency and/or costs.

AUTOMATION: THE LEVEL OF AUTOMATION REMAINS VARIABLE ACCORDING TO THE AREAS INVOLVED.

The main focus of companies continues to be, as reflected in the study, on automating processes in the storage area. “This is nothing new and it is a trend that has already been observed since the 1990s and with proven benefits,” says the report. The least automated process, meanwhile, is the loading and unloading of trucks, since automatic systems in this area are only used for specific cases, such as the transport of products between factories, in which case special trucks are required that are not suitable for other usual operations. More flexible systems also exist, but they do not have the same level of maturity or are as consolidated.

“If we compare the current automation results with those of two years ago, we see that according to the participants there has been an 11% increase in automatic case picking. This is because orders are increasingly fragmented and require more levels of picking. The degree of automation planned in the area of unit picking has also grown in recent years (9%), despite the fact that it is operational, it continues to be carried out very manually (43%). This is due to the fact that unit picking volumes are not high enough to justify a profitable investment”, the study concludes.

OMNI-CHANNELNESS: MORE PROTAGONISM OF STORES

When breaking down the results of the survey carried out by the consultant, the percentage of companies that are, for example, using marketplaces to distribute products to their clients is 28%. However, focusing on the second section of responses, we see that the bet for the immediate future is towards direct deliveries (28% against 19%).

“Most FMCG companies already have a direct-to-consumer distribution channel (D2C). It is a channel that is used to test, for example, innovations, special packs or gifts. It is also used to be able to interact directly with the client and thus better understand their needs and preferences. In general, this channel is not designed to compete with retailers and does not usually represent a significant volume”, the report states.

Another noteworthy aspect to analyze is the interest that companies have in establishing their distribution strategy based on an omnichannel warehouse. “Traditionally, companies prefer to outsource online sales, but in this edition, 71% of the participating companies have stated that they opt for a versatile omnichannel warehouse that allows them to centralize all orders to different channels in the same place,” says the study. (Source: LOGISTEC)