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is out of compliance and/or not completed.” Likewise, routine activities should include “horizon scanning.” “An example of increasing risk of fraud could be the situation we are in with the pandemic, which has created additional opportunities and incentive for fraudulent activities,” says Sequera-Denyko. “As you scan the horizon, are you prepared for the next pandemic or other potential disruption to your supply chain?” Other technologies that proved to be beneficial were transport management systems and truck routing systems. “There were a lot of trucks redirected on a moments’ notice and delivery plans had to be constantly updated, as the retailers and wholesaler distribution centers were initially struggling to get the trucks unloaded due to the sudden
unplanned spike in demand,” says Treacy. Technology aside, how can companies better identify risks in the supply chain? “Companies can review what worked and what could have worked better during the first few weeks of the pandemic,” adds Treacy. “We saw some partnerships form very quickly between companies that needed and those who had capacity in labor, transportation equipment, material handling equipment and refrigerated warehouse space. There can be lessons learned from how that was implemented. We saw foodservice distributors providing product, service, equipment, labor and warehouse space to retailers who needed it.”
Future for risk mitigation The challenge with planning for the future is that no one knows what that future even looks like. The post-COVID-19 environment will still test supply chains’ resiliency. It will continue to force the industry to revamp processes, procedures and technologies to move cold food and beverages through the chain in a safe, timely and efficient manner. Regardless of what the future holds, companies will still need to continue mitigating risk. “The hard question is how do we recover? How do we get back to normal? What does the New Normal look like? I mean, these are questions we all have,” says Fernandez. “And, on top of that, quite honestly, we’re all kind of bracing for the second wave that hasn’t come yet. We’re still in a state of uncertainty. [The future is]
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