Weathering the Storm: How Merchants Can Protect Shipments During Climate Events
As we endure peak hurricane season and catastrophic climate events grow more frequent, supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to climate-related threats. From earlier and stronger storms to unpredictable weather patterns, the impact of these environmental changes is unavoidable. And while we’ve already seen how weather disasters can wreak havoc on supply chains, chaos isn’t inevitable. In fact, with the integration of artificial intelligence-assisted technologies like predictive analytics into the supply chain, merchants can put strategies in place to safeguard their shipments from weather-related issues and keep customers happy.
Weather Woes: Package Damage
A new report from UPS Capital underscores the real-world consequences of weather events: 46 percent of merchants have experienced package damages related to weather during the delivery process. From rain making a box sopping wet to heat-related issues, this is become a rising trend for businesses that potentially have to absorb financial losses and deal with strained customer relationships.
From the consumer side, 24 percent of customers say package damage is the most common issue they face when ordering online, highlighting a significant pain point for e-commerce companies whose reputations depend heavily on reliability and customer experience. For smaller businesses, every damaged package represents a potential loss and accrued costs that can have a negative impact on the bottom line.
Minimizing Disruptions
While merchants can’t predict or stop weather events, the good news is they also don’t have to leave their businesses vulnerable to whatever Mother Nature may bring. By leveraging new tools and adopting new practices, businesses can begin to build a more resilient supply chain that can withstand weather disruptions. By shifting from a reactive to a proactive strategy on supply chain management, merchants can take steps to protect both inventory and their customer experience.
Some of the best practices that businesses can adopt include:
Diversifying Options
We’re seeing alternate delivery locations growing in popularity to help safeguard packages from porch piracy. They also can play an important role in protecting against adverse outcomes from weather-related delays. When weather events are forecasted, retailers can offer alternative delivery locations and methods to maintain service continuity.
Predictive analytics tools can also play a key role in helping to navigate any potential disruptions. While weather-related risks are notoriously difficult to forecast, AI-enabled tools can help businesses anticipate disruptions before they happen. By leveraging data-driven insights, merchants now have the option to make informed decisions about where and when to ship, if deliveries need to be re-routed, or even if they need to pause shipments to wait out a storm. These tools can also help understand patterns from past weather-related disruptions, allowing merchants to better prepare for future climate events.
Resilience in the Eye of the Storm
While merchants can’t stop extreme weather events, they can make informed decisions to strengthen their supply chains to withstand the challenges that come with potential disruptions. Whether it’s offering alternative delivery options or leveraging cutting-edge tools, the key is to be proactive. As climate events only continue to grow in frequency, businesses must prioritize resilience in their day-to-day operations. While it may seem like a never-ending battle, those that do will be able to protect customer loyalty, minimize disruptions, and ensure long-term success in an unpredictable world.
Ashley Hillman is director of new product innovation at UPS Capital, a financial services division of UPS that offers multicarrier, multimodal shipping insurance and additional services to reduce risks and preserve cash flow.
Ashley Hillman is a Director of New Product Development at UPS Capital, where she leads a cross-functional agile team to build and commercialize our new digital product offerings. She recently led the launch of DeliveryDefense Shipping Intelligence, a DaaS product that uses enriched delivery data and machine learning to help predict shipping outcomes before a label is even generated. In leading SaaS product development at UPS Capital, her team aspires to create simple, user-friendly technologies that add value and insight to a shipper’s supply chain and logistics experience.
Ashley started her career at UPS in 2011 as a Human Resources Administrative Assistant in Atlanta, Georgia. Over a decade of experience at UPS and UPS Capital in a variety of different functions has afforded her a unique breadth of perspective and the opportunity to gain exposure to key areas of the business. Her experiences have helped to develop and cultivate her unique, creative energy that she uses to make a positive impact on customers, employees, partners.
Previously, as the Director of Digital Channel Marketing, Ashley led a cross-functional team of sales, marketing, and solutions representatives to oversee the company’s growth of strategic partnerships, whose relationships helped to expand and scale our digital supply chain insurance offering. Prior to that, she was the UPS Capital Director of Field Marketing, with responsibility for driving revenue growth through the planning and execution of account-based marketing tactics that improved customer conversion through winning value propositions, creative content development, and coordinated multi-channel integrated campaigns.
Ashley received both her MBA and bachelor’s degree from The University of Georgia.
