Abstract

The corona virus outbreak had been a very serious test for logistics and supply chain
management. There was a serious demand in the market but the covid-19 broke the most
important economy in the world which is logistics and supply chain.

There were some serious constraints on both production and supply, and of course some
ineffiencies on the logistics side which accelerated the impact of this type of a pandemic on the
global supply chains. It is hard for us to find a benchmark that we can reliably use to estimate the
impact of such kind of an effect.

Logistics and supply chain are highly interconnected systems of suppliers, buyers, producers,
distributors, wholesalers and retailers which spreads all over the world and these kinds of shocks
in the system propagate and then they get amplified as they move forward and backwards into
the supply chain.

The benchmark that people use to compare this outbreak with SARS which happened in 2002-
2003 and its impact on global supply chain which was not as significant. At that time the
estimated impact was 40 billion dollars, if we compare it with today it will be around 60 billion
dollars.

Many countries economy and GDP fell due to SARS a best example could be China which
represented a very small economy output of 1.7 trillion dollars and today it’s around 15 trillion
dollars at that time it represented 5% of the global trade and now it represents around 14-15%
global trade. The GDP in China per person dollar was 1500 dollars and today it’s around 9000
dollars. From a supply base we have to understand that China has always been a global
manufacturing hub for many countries but at that time it use to supply mainly commodity goods
and now it supplies mostly every good whether its electronic, pharmaceutical, textile, etc.
whatever the impact was due to SARS in 2002-2003 China recovered from it and likewise it also
recovered from covid-19 pandemic.

The supply chain of China affected the entire world as many countries are dependent on it. Due
to the less knowledge of the virus and the situation the logistics companies didn’t know what to
do. India on the other hand started “Atmanirbhar” self-dependent which helped many startups
and small businesses to grow due to which road-logistics slowly took pace.

The corona virus affected logistics in each and every sector whether it’s Air, Marine, Road and
Rail. As each and every sector plays a different role, every sector affected differently. The most
affected sector was Marine as no countries were allowing any imports and as marine is a slow
mode of transport the perishable products got damaged. The least affected sector was road
because even during lockdown inter transport was still active to help the public get delivered
their products or goods. There were certain precautions which were taken by many road logistics
companies to deliver safely and hygienically.
Introduction

A well-known quote within logistics and supply chain management is; “You will not find it
difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because
of logistics”- General Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th U.S. President).

This bachelor thesis explains and analyzes the impact of covid-19 on logistics and supply chain globally
and specially in India. This topic was chosen because of ongoing situation in the market. The author of
this thesis also worked as an intern in Blue Dart Ltd. and got privilege to learn the Operations, Customer
service, Sales, HR, IT Infrastructure, Security, and Accounts Dept experience and knowledge.

The author decided to do a research on job sector of these departments and found out that most of
these department jobs are at risk because of covid-19 and upcoming revolution of AI (Artificial
Intelligence). Many big companies like FedEx, DHL, etc. are changing their human employees with
machines and software’s. The corona virus impact has given a boost for the big companies to change
their employees with machines as machines are easy to handle, doesn’t take leave and are more
efficient towards the job.

Corona virus will bring a big revolution in Logistics and Supply chain by the end of year 2025. Small
companies will not replace their human employees with machines as it requires big capital investment.
Other than job risk corona virus has also slowed down the market of logistics and supply chain sector
due to which many small companies had shut down and new startups are penetrating in the market o
get a lead.

1.1 Aims and significance of the thesis

The aim of this study was to find out the post, ongoing and future impact of covid-19 on logistics and
supply chain other than that the impact of it on Producer, Manufacturer, Wholesaler, Distributor,
Retailer and Consumer .This thesis will also explain the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats
(SWOT) of logistics and supply chain four main sectors - Air, Marine, Road and Rail.

This thesis further explains with a survey of XYZ Company.

1.2 Research problems and questions

The research problem is that XYZ Company does not have carried out a survey or research for their
company regarding covid-19 situation as such a survey has never carried out before. This resulted in
having many tasks assigned to the research work by the company.

1.3 Thesis structure

This thesis structurally consists of –Abstract, Introduction part, Objective of research, Scope of the
research, Literature review, Research Methodology, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Conclusion and
 Suggestions. In the Chapter One, the reader is led to the problems and information about corona
virus impact on logistics and supply chain that is used as a case study.
In Chapter Two, the reader is led to a case study of XYZ Company and how it handled corona virus
situation in most effective and efficient way.

In Chapter Three, the reader is led to

1.4 Qualitative Research

Qualitative method of research analyses the behavioral patterns and feelings of the respondent is been
carried out in form of survey, observation, and interview.