The US supply chain continues to work well and ecommerce is up, according to an article in chainstorage.com. The article reveals that the coronavirus has rapidly driven up ecommerce sales, and it started early.
“According to data analysis from predictive retail analytics platform Quantum Metric, coronavirus is driving U.S. consumers online. E-commerce retailers based in the U.S. experienced a 52% growth rate in online spending during the fifth to eighth weeks of 2020 (the time period when the virus began rapidly spreading outside of Asia) compared to the same weeks of 2019. These weeks span Jan. 27 – Feb. 23, 2020.”
One of our major carrier partners, UPS, is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 around the globe.They have developed and routinely practice contingency plans to maintain network operations, and they are working daily to ensure the health and wellbeing of their employees.
In China UPS is now at almost 100 percent of normal staffing, and demand is rapidly resuming as commercial activity picks up. Since January 24, UPS has supported the transportation and clearance of over 23,000 shipments and more than 230 tons of medical supplies to China. They will prioritize critical healthcare shipments in any affected market in order to assist healthcare professionals to contain the spread of virus and treat those affected.
In the event that COVID-19 becomes much more widespread in the U.S., or other countries, UPS will undertake measures similar to those utilized in previous large-scale epidemic events such as the Avian Flu (H5N1) and SARS in order to continue delivering to consumers.
In the affected areas, UPS and AMS will continue to support current demand from our clients and their consumers, even where this is limited, and we are prepared to resume normal operations as soon as government restrictions are lifted and the regular commercial demand increases.
Ecommerce will likely increase even more in the days that follow, with visits to retail stores thinning and stores closing or reducing hours with the recommendation that customers shop online. An article published by CNBC provides a fairly long list of stores that are closing. Apple is among those closing stores, and Walmart is among those reducing hours in order to clean and re-stock shelves.
AMS is prepared. Our workforce is healthy, strongly supported and well informed on how to respond to the virus. We are closely following the CDC recommendations for business.
A few years ago AMS became a B-Corporation and Social Enterprise. B-Corporations agree to the higher social and environmental standards that balance the needs of shareholders with customers, employees, the environment and local communities.
AMS Fulfillment has been environmentally conscious since opening its doors for business, adopting “think green” practices and improving on those practices as new information and new products become available. As a B Corporation with a genuine concern about the environment and the impact of packaging materials on the environment, we are working harder than ever to see what we can do to find and use materials that are not harmful.
Last July we posted a blog about what was going on in the AMS Learning Center as 28 young students were learning basic work ethics and Fulfillment Industry skillsets. It was a summer leadership and career readiness pilot program, organized by S.T.R.E.A.M. Global Innovations (SGI) in cooperation with Goodwill Industries and AMS Fulfillment.
Every month, and especially after our busiest month of the year, it’s such a pleasure for supervisors and employees to recognize a specific employee as having been outstanding. This month we are very pleased to recognize Ken R., Andy P., Erica B., Lidia P., Tervon N. and Devon N.
In the fulfillment industry we’re pretty familiar with Santa’s workshop – just ask the elves pulling products out of bins, or the ones assembling things, or how about the ones loading and unloading the trucks (aka sleighs). When the packages are delivered and the gifts are being enjoyed, we enjoy a feeling of success. We made it happen once again.
The months of November and December are especially busy for our company. Peak holiday season asks a lot of AMS management and employees, and we’re grateful for the extra effort that everyone in our corporate family puts forth to make the season successful. This month as the employees in our various facilities made their nominations, they had a hard job nominating just one employee, as many did exemplary work.
When holiday time comes around, a volunteer group of AMS employees gets busy. For nine years they have been donating and organizing donations so that families in need can enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. The volunteers put up flyers and send out emails companywide, giving their co-workers an opportunity to join in.
Here we are, heading toward the end of 2019, and we’re happy to report that AMS has experienced ZERO lost time injuries this year. Comparing our safety record with others in the fulfillment business, AMS COO, Daniel Butera, said, “I guess having our priorities balanced is important!”
A few days ago our home community of Santa Clarita suffered a tragedy; there was a shooting at our local Saugus High School. The awful fear that this invoked in the children, and families and friends of the children, will never be forgotten. While news reports focused on the details, at AMS we dealt with the reality of our own families being at risk.