COVID-19 will continue to make an impact on the food industry and its supply chains. FE spoke with a few experts from the A&E/C community to get a wide-angle view of some of the key issues.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to drive significant change to the food and beverage supply chain,” says Keith Perkey, vice president, Haskell Food & Beverage Division. Previously processors were reluctant to have extra capacity in warehouses or on production lines; however, given the learning that will come from the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19, that model may change and drive additional capacity to be constructed. There is also a significant likelihood that a contagious virus will add complexity to how manufacturing systems are laid out to provide additional social distancing and monitoring if necessary.