The beginning of 2020 has presented a rather unpleasant routine for the inhabitant of the Brazilian Southeast. Black clouds adorn the skies in the morning, being an omen of storms that arrive in the late afternoon, causing disturbances and tragedies. It is true that the problems of flooding in large cities do not come from today, but this year has been marked by some unfortunate records. In São Paulo, the level of rainfall in February was the highest for the month since the beginning of the series of measurements, in 1943, and as we have seen, the city was not prepared for it, as well as Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Vitória, and nearby cities, which also registered peaks in their historical records.
In addition to the huge humanitarian loss, with hundreds of deaths as a result of the floods (and there are also displacements and illnesses), it is not difficult to perceive a series of economic and logistical losses for society as a whole. Structures are seriously compromised, roads become impassable and the risks related to the movement of people and goods increase considerably.
In the capital of São Paulo, there was a drastic reduction in the search for freight, and many of the transporters that managed to take to the streets suffered from slowdowns, stranded drivers, and loss of cargo. CEAGESP operations were stopped for days, as the water around the warehouse prevented the trucks from leaving and even invaded the local warehouse, leading to the need to dispose of more than 7 thousand tons of food. Some supermarkets in the city also suffered from shortages, and companies extended delivery times due to the disasters. The logistical problems caused by floods also make it difficult to provide care and help to the victims, a challenge that we have already commented on on a few occasions on the ILOS blog (in the posts about humanitarian logistics e emergency logistics).
This reality obviously will not be solved only with lamentations. In order not to aggravate the problem in the long term, it is necessary to work on urban solutions to contain water, and more seriousness and urgency in the debates on climate change. From the point of view of the supply chain, companies that may have their businesses and their stakeholders affected by this problem must prepare themselves in the best possible way to avoid personal, financial and material losses. Inventory policies need to be parameterized taking into account the possible floods, as well as the assets used, the assembled structures and the transfer and production plans. All these analyzes must be supported by a good plan of supply chain risk management, which quantitatively assesses the probabilities and impacts of acts of God and force majeure, and draws up contingency plans in unfortunate scenarios.
We hope that today's disasters serve as a lesson for all who can promote change. We don't want to talk about negative records from 2021 onwards...
References:
https://valor.globo.com/agronegocios/noticia/2020/02/10/chuva-em-sp-leva-ceagesp-a-paralisar-atividades.ghtml
https://www.mercadoeconsumo.com.br/2020/02/13/logistica-fortes-chuvas-afetaram-o-transporte-de-cargas-em-sao-paulo/
https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2020/02/10/chuvas-afetam-comrcio-de-sp-em-ms-marcado-por-menos-dias-teis.ghtml
https://g1.globo.com/sp/santos-regiao/noticia/2020/03/03/queda-de-barreiras-bloqueiam-trechos-da-anchieta-e-conego-domenico-rangoni.ghtml
https://setcesp.org.br/noticias/com-chuvas-supermercados-de-sp-estimam-perda-de-r-30-mi-em-faturamento/
https://noticias.r7.com/sao-paulo/capital-paulista-tem-maior-volume-de-chuvas-para-fevereiro-em-77-anos-26022020
Fernando Chalréo
He has been working on consulting projects in Logistics and Supply Chain for 5 years, with experience in companies in the consumer goods, retail and food and beverage sectors. Types of projects already carried out: Sales & Operations Planning, Inventory Management, Network Planning, Business Process Review, Logistics Indicators and Transport Management
