In 2020, Italy was hit by the Covid- 19 pandemic, an unprecedented event that upset the world's economic and production balances. The aim of the following study is to analyse how the logistics sector, influenced by these events, transformed by changing consumer habits and the boost in online transactions, has changed and to see the long-term impacts from both a managerial and an operational point of view, trying to capture every possible aspect. The study observed, through the use of case studies, how the logistics sector has made investments to ensure primarily the safety of workers, introducing security and distancing measures as well as technological solutions, destined to remain in the future, allowing them to work from home and creating new working logics to manage flows. The pandemic has also been an opportunity, since the increase in e-commerce flows has given rise to new market opportunities covered by new logistics realities (start-ups) and has made it possible to increase the number of customers and create new routes and to specialise with one type of customer, the B2C. Finally, it has been observed that the logistics system has preferred to propose practical and effective solutions, thus limiting the use of sustainable solutions as they are complicated to implement in a short period of time; however, it has allowed rethinking strategies for the future, accelerating projects on sustainability. The use of a qualitative method made it possible to collect important information to answer the research question, however, it has limitations in the quality of the data collected. The study made it possible to analyse the Italian logistics sector, highlighting its behaviour in the lockdown period and what consequences this generated in the long term. The study highlighted, using the theoretical lens of resilience theory, that the sector is mature but lacks the sensing function to generate resilience capabilities. Finally, the study by developing a conceptual framework, identifies four issues not analysed in the literature related to the pandemic, specifically, on costs, management of the flow of goods, fear of personnel and investment opportunities. Finally, the study employs an innovative research methodology for the topics covered, aims to define cutting-edge research questions by including sustainability issues in a context of economic contraction, to analyse the resilience of an industry and to propose new areas for future research.
Nel 2020 l’Italia è stata colpita dalla pandemia di Covid- 19, evento senza precedenti che ha stravolto gli equilibri economici e produttivi mondiali. L’obbiettivo del seguente studio è quello di analizzare come il settore della logistica, influenzato da questi eventi, dal cambiamento delle abitudini dei consumatori e dal boost delle transazioni online sia andato a modificarsi e vedere quali impatti sono stati generati sul lungo periodo sia da un punto di vista manageriale che operazionale, cercando di cogliere ogni possibile sfaccettatura. Lo studio ha osservato, tramite l’uso di case, come il settore logistico abbia effettuato investimenti al fine di garantire in primo luogo la sicurezza dei lavoratori, introducendo misure di sicurezza e distanziamento e allo stesso tempo soluzione tecnologiche, destinate a rimanere nel futuro, per lavorare da casa e creare nuove logiche di lavoro per gestire i flussi. La pandemia è stata anche un’opportunità poiché grazie all’aumento dei flussi e-commerce sono nate nuove possibilità di mercato colmate da nuove realtà logistiche (start-up) , ha permesso di aumentare il numero di clienti e creare nuove rotte e di specializzarsi con una tipologia di cliente, il B2C. Infine si è osservato come il sistema logistico abbia preferito proporre soluzioni pratiche ed efficaci, limitando così l’uso di soluzioni sostenibili poiché complicate da implementare in tempi brevi, tuttavia ha permesso di ripensare alle strategie per il futuro, accelerando progetti sulla sostenibilità. L’uso di un metodo qualitativo ha permesso di raccogliere informazioni importanti per rispondere alla domanda di ricerca, tuttavia, presenta dei limiti nella qualità dei dati raccolti. Lo studio ha permesso di analizzare il settore logistico italiano, evidenziando il suo comportamento nel periodo di lockdown e quali conseguenze ha generato questo nel lungo periodo. Lo studio ha evidenziato, utilizzando la lente teorica della resilience theory, che il settore è maturo ma manca della funzione di sensing, al fine di generare la resilience capabilities. Infine, lo studio sviluppando un framework concettuale, identifica quattro tematiche non analizzate dalla letteratura relative alla pandemia, in particolare, sui costi, gestione del flusso merci, paura del personale ed opportunità di investimenti. Infine, lo studio utilizza una metodologia di ricerca innovativo per gli argomenti trattati, si pone di definire domande di ricerca innovative includendo tematiche di sostenibilità in un contesto di contrazione economica, di analizzare la resilienza di un settore e di proporre nuovi ambiti di ricerca futuri.
The impact of Covid-19 on logistics. A multiple case study from Italy
Garola, Giovanni
2020/2021
Abstract
In 2020, Italy was hit by the Covid- 19 pandemic, an unprecedented event that upset the world's economic and production balances. The aim of the following study is to analyse how the logistics sector, influenced by these events, transformed by changing consumer habits and the boost in online transactions, has changed and to see the long-term impacts from both a managerial and an operational point of view, trying to capture every possible aspect. The study observed, through the use of case studies, how the logistics sector has made investments to ensure primarily the safety of workers, introducing security and distancing measures as well as technological solutions, destined to remain in the future, allowing them to work from home and creating new working logics to manage flows. The pandemic has also been an opportunity, since the increase in e-commerce flows has given rise to new market opportunities covered by new logistics realities (start-ups) and has made it possible to increase the number of customers and create new routes and to specialise with one type of customer, the B2C. Finally, it has been observed that the logistics system has preferred to propose practical and effective solutions, thus limiting the use of sustainable solutions as they are complicated to implement in a short period of time; however, it has allowed rethinking strategies for the future, accelerating projects on sustainability. The use of a qualitative method made it possible to collect important information to answer the research question, however, it has limitations in the quality of the data collected. The study made it possible to analyse the Italian logistics sector, highlighting its behaviour in the lockdown period and what consequences this generated in the long term. The study highlighted, using the theoretical lens of resilience theory, that the sector is mature but lacks the sensing function to generate resilience capabilities. Finally, the study by developing a conceptual framework, identifies four issues not analysed in the literature related to the pandemic, specifically, on costs, management of the flow of goods, fear of personnel and investment opportunities. Finally, the study employs an innovative research methodology for the topics covered, aims to define cutting-edge research questions by including sustainability issues in a context of economic contraction, to analyse the resilience of an industry and to propose new areas for future research.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/183185