Today’s Supply Chain Day, where 388 companies in the fields of industry, trade and services, and research institutes will open their doors for interested visitors. Companies and visitors get the chance to discuss the tremendous influence logistics and supply chain has on our everyday lives and the economy.
Can you imagine a day without logistics?
A day without logistics is no longer possible in this day and age. Here’s how I think the day would pan out without logistics.
It’s 8am and you’re hungry. But you’d have to do without your breakfast roll or toast because without functioning supply chains, bakers or supermarkets would not be able to offer baked goods. Even reaching for a cup of coffee would be in vain. Without finely-tuned logistics, it would be impossible for the coffee beans to travel from Central America over the ocean, to the roasting site and finally to our supermarket shelves.
You’re already frustrated without breakfast, and the next nasty surprise waits for you as you arrive at the train station to get to work. Without complex logistics – which provides the schedule for trains, the underground and trains would also arrive hopelessly late; that is, if they even come at all.
However, if you manage to make it to work, you’re up against new challenges. Printing won’t be possible, because paper could not be delivered. Ordered office supplies, too, would not arrive, because parcel services are also not able to function without logistics. To drown your anger in coffee is also pointless in this situation – the coffee beans still haven’t managed to make it across the ocean!
Not the beer!
If you were hoping to unwind at a movie once you finished work, you thought wrong. At the cinema, the screen remains black, because the film reels could not be delivered. For nostalgic reasons, it was decided to have an analogue cinema with “real” films instead of digital preserves.
If you had been longing for a nice cold, beer as consolation, you’re out of luck again. Exactly like the coffee beans, the bottles of beer also could not make it from the brewery to our supermarket shelves. Hitting the bed would now be a good option… but if only the eiderdowns had come back in good time from the laundry.
So, the only remaining option is to stay awake until the day without logistics is over!
But enough about me. Learn more about Supply Chain Day and the companies and institutions that are taking part in the celebration.
DELMIA Quintiq World Tour: Smart Planning. Smart Business.
On June 12, the DELMIA Quintiq World Tour will arrive in Düsseldorf and offer a platform for exchanging ideas on how to improve planning processes. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the latest best practices in supply chain planning & optimization. Sign up now!
