Whether you own a trucking company or you want to dip your toes into the distribution business in the near future, there are a few things you’ll need to do. COVID-19 has changed the way businesses operate all over the world and distribution is no exception. Fortunately, certain actions and priorities will help you keep your workers and business safe from harm. So, let’s take a look at 5 ways to operate a distribution business during COVID-19:
Table of Contents
Keep Your Insurance Updated
There has never been a better time to have insurance. Whether it’s health insurance for your workers or collision insurance for your vehicles, you need to make sure that your business is covered from every angle. For most businesses, margins have tightened since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. This leads many entrepreneurs to make cuts, but insurance should not be one of them. The last thing you want is a collision between an uninsured truck and roadway barriers or vehicles.
Practice Social Distancing
Some businesses require human contact. Depending on how your distribution business operates, yours may or may not be one of them. If your current operations do require direct human contact between employees, clients, or vendors, you should keep this contact to a minimum. Practicing social distancing, and enforcing it throughout your company, will help keep everyone safe.
Use Masks, Gloves, and More
Your employees should have health insurance, but that doesn’t mean you want them to get sick. Having your workers wear masks and gloves at all times not only protects your workers and anyone they come in contact with, but it also builds trust for your brand. Using proper hygiene and preventative measures shows the public that your business takes COVID-19 seriously.
Make Cuts to Non-Essential Expenses
While most distribution businesses will continue to operate through COVID-19, many will be negatively impacted by the pandemic. As previously stated, your margins could be very thin and you might experience a significant loss of revenue due to Coronavirus. If this is the case, you will likely need to make significant cuts to keep your business running.
However, this doesn’t mean you should completely gut your company. If you have non-essential personnel, you might have to make some tough decisions regarding temporary furloughs. That said, if you can find ways to cut costs without getting rid of workers, you should absolutely do so.
Consider a Remote Workforce
In distribution, workers may not be able to perform some functions from home. However, if you have one or more employees who can do their job from home, this could end up saving you money. For example, if you have high overhead expenses on office space for workers who could easily perform their duties remotely, you could end up saving a lot of money by simply shifting to a remote workforce.
The Bottom Line
COVID-19 is still raging throughout the world, wreaking havoc on many businesses and industries. If you own or plan to own a distribution business, you need to be prepared for the worst. Fortunately, if you follow the tips outlined above, you can weather the storm and keep your distribution business afloat.
About Carson Derrow
