How Much Does Traffic Affect Logistics Companies in the Philippines?

Logistics in a nutshell can mostly be illustrated as two points, A and B, being connected, indicating the relationship of moving products and even services from one location to another. Operations isn’t that cut and dry, though. The line that connects the two points always have something interesting in between them, and most of these “interesting” things make what should be a quick, one-way interaction, more convoluted and in turn take longer to expedite. One of the biggest contributors to this convolution and a bane for any logistics company in the Philippines is the increasingly worsening traffic.

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Time-Sensitive Transactions

One of the problems that the logistics industry faces when it comes to traffic is, as most apparent, not making deliveries on time. In the Philippines, slight deviations from the deadline might be excusable because of the culture about “Filipino Time” (being always late), but this impacts big international transactions where success is hinged on making it on time.

Imagine not making and international transfer on time because your truck is stuck at C5. Locally, industries that suffer include construction, medicine, and those that involve perishables goods like the food industry. A delay in logistics will cascade to everyday life as with delayed construction supply movement, especially if what are being constructed are major public infrastructure. It doesn’t only impact the industry, it also impact the regular person’s lifestyle.

Supply Chain

When delays in delivery become a constant, it will affect how the supply chain operates such that, logistics companies in the Philippines may schedule deliveries less while dropping-off more in specific areas where congestion is a regular problem. Nonetheless, because of the variability that congestions make on optimization, business may expand to be able to stock more to require less deliveries. Businesses are required to spend more to meet baseline demand because traffic gets the best of their business.

Locale Reevaluation

When worse comes to worst in terms of traffic, businesses may be forced to reevaluate where and how they are situated. For companies that are stuck in the city, road-locked in traffic, one consideration may be to relocate; but that doesn’t solve the problem of delivery especially if service areas are still situated where the traffic is, that’s why some businesses might limit who they transact with just because too much is lost to getting stuck in traffic. Businesses either lose productivity stuck in traffic or lose opportunities by not dealing with congestion.

Public Works Variable

This is an issue that is touchy in the Philippines because public works does not necessarily “work”. Every other year, sometimes even multiple times in the course of a single year, a road may be “under repair” despite being fine. Sometimes, they are built less stably as well, so much that they break down easily. Logistics companies in the Philippines not only have to suffer through traffic built by car population but also by poorly coordinated public works.

While there are no better solutions for businesses to address the congestion issue head-on, putting traffic as a major consideration for deliveries may be prudent. Pick the times of deliveries well, learn more routes, and consider other modes of transportation that might cost more at face value but save businesses more on opportunity like air freight transfers.