The COVID 19 pandemic has had a large impact on the distribution stage of the food supply chain.

This is largely due to the amount that consumers are consuming as the pandemic lead to consumers
focusing on staying at home, limiting how often they go to the supermarket or the shops and many
completely avoiding going out to eat. Consumers consuming less means that the demand for any
products has decreased, particularly the demand for more novelty products as consumers are
focusing on purchasing necessities the new purchasing behaviour is also likely due to some
consumers being unable to work which also means that there is less disposable income so they have
to prioritise what they are purchasing. The lack of demand for product means that there is also a
lack of demand for transport for the products, but because of how the food industry produces
product, there is going to be a backlog of product that will need to be distributed in the future if it is
still suitable to be sold.

The distribution in the pork industry will be will be negatively affected by the pandemic as pork
producers produce on the basis that there is a consistent demand for pork, and have their pigs
growing at a rate that they need to be sending a certain amount down the supply chain to the
slaughterhouse each week, and the pigs are at the correct age to go to slaughter to then sell the
meat. However, due to the lack in demand for products, demand for pork is likely to have decreased,
which means that ideally pork producers would be sending less to the slaughterhouse each week,
but that means that the producers have pigs on their property that are getting too old to go to
slaughter and make a profit, but are also taking up room on the property for the piglets that are
being born regularly.

Trucking companies will be experiencing a negative affect from the pandemic, mainly due to the lack
of demand for products, which means that trucking companies do not have as much stock to be
moving regularly. Combined with rest stops being less accommodating to consumers (toilets made
unavailable etc.), truck drivers are finding working through the pandemic much less pleasant as truck
drivers work long hours with mandatory breaks that they have to take, so truck stops not allowing
drivers the luxury of a toilet and a shower means that their (very important) job of transporting what
consumers demand around the country very unpleasant.

Different sized businesses will be affected differently depending on how much outsourcing they do
to develop their product/service. Small businesses who rely on bigger businesses to be distributing
may end up at a large loss, due to being unable to get supplies to make their product. Many small
businesses also use larger businesses to distribute their products, they do this because it makes it
easier for them to get the product to reach a larger audience, which allows for the business to grow.
This is a very large impact on small businesses as it is possible that the business is the only income
for the owner, but some small businesses are also not the owner’s primary income but the owner
will still have invested largely in the business and to lose profit due to the pandemic will be very
upsetting.

Larger businesses will also be negatively impacted by the pandemic due to distribution having to be
done differently. The rules that must be followed in order to keep employees and consumers safe
means that the process of getting products from one place to its destination may take a much longer
time to achieve. Larger businesses distribution may also become slightly unreliable as a result of the
pandemic. Some products (or locations) will take priority over others, which may mean that a
product that was meant to go to one location ends up in another location that had higher demand
for the product which therefore took priority. In another similar situation, some priority products
like bottled water may take priority over products like potato chips, which means that when
products need to get on the shelves in supermarkets, necessities will be transported before
unnecessary products.

The pandemic has led to a large amount of businesses either letting staff go or rearranging shifts so
that social distancing guidelines are able to be followed. This has meant that many businesses have
changed their hours of operations so that the employees that live pay check to pay check can keep
their jobs while still being able to afford to live. It also means that the business can continue to
produce the same amount of product without having to cut down on staff. In New Zealand,
lockdown was during the end of summer fruit season, so companies like Watties who produce
canned fruits and vegetables were very busy, and the social distancing made some things more
difficult, it allowed businesses to learn new ways of doing things that they may not have otherwise
considered.

Overall, many of the impacts that the pandemic had on the distribution stage of the supply chain
were negative, but consumers managed to find the positive in it, as many learnt how to cook or to
grow their own produce, which allowed them to take a step back and learn that they do not need to
rely on large companies and their products/services as much as they do.