The document discusses 6 priority areas for CEP industries to focus on in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak: workforce operations, delivery, cyber security, customer and revenue, communication, and maintaining business continuity of operations. It provides examples of challenges these industries may face related to each priority area and recommends reviewing existing technologies, workforce planning, logistics networks, and communication strategies. Potential process improvements are also outlined to help grow operational capacity through initiatives like conveyor systems and delivery force support.

1. Considering the potential COVID-19
outbreak’s impact on parcel and
postal operations
25 March 2020

2. PwC Strategy & Operations
Responding to COVID-19 in the CEP industry requires to
focus on 6 priority areas
2
The COVID-19 outbreak has
been declared a pandemic by
the World Health Organization,
causing huge impact on
people’s lives, families and
communities.
To ensure continuous business
operations through uncertain times,
businesses need to build up an
operational capability to be able to
respond to growing parcel processing
volumes, increased demand for remote
working, and changing delivery
patterns.
Protecting the well-being and
welfare of the whole workforce –
both those that are still engaging
physically and those working
remotely, including mental
health.
Reduced resilience as key
functions, infrastructure and
services, or locations become
unavailable.
Delays in on-site activity,
impacting projected financials.
.
Re-routing, delays, disputes and
other knock-on effects on
customers.
Workforce Operations Delivery
Protecting the electronic
communication also for remote
access.
Providing the relevant resources
and IT capacity including both
software and IT tools.
Impact on customers’ shipping
structure, volume flows, as a
result of a significant uptake in
online retail.
Leading to cash flow and
contractual issues.
Providing the clear and effective
communication with all
stakeholders, both internal and
external, including delivery force
and first line.
Cyber security Customer and
revenue
Communication

3. PwC Strategy & Operations
Parcel, postal and ecommerce operations face significant challenges and disruption and will
have to be able to navigate through crises and unforeseen events for even longer than current
peaks
3
PwC epidemiologists and economists have worked together to form coherent scenarios based on fact-driven assumptions
CONTAINED
Population distancing and movement controls
prevent ongoing spread of the disease
1
Newcases/week
HOT SPOTS
Pandemic spread prevented but ongoing disease
hotspots emerge and are contained
2
Assuming
vaccine
available–
June 2021
PANDEMIC
Public health measures fail to prevent a
pandemic. Focus shifts to reducing outbreak’s
impact
2020 2021 2022
Assuming
vaccine
available–
June 2021
3
2020 2021 20222020 2021 2022
Assumptions:
• Near 100% case detection rate in all countries, including mild
cases.
• Successful contact tracing and quarantine measures in all
countries.
Impact:
• Workforce: Home working and travel restrictions in affected
countries as disease is contained.
• Supply chain: Reduced output from affected countries impacts
supply chain in the short term.
• Economy: Uncertainty has a short term impact on markets.
Affected countries more significantlyimpacted.
• Timeframe: 3 to 6 months.
Assumptions:
• Not all cases are detected, allowing spread at a reduced
frequency.
• Successful contact tracing and quarantine measures around
emerging cases prevent a pandemic.
Impact:
• Workforce: Home working and travel restrictions in existing
and newly affected countries.
• Supply chain: Reduced output from affected countries
impacts supply chain.
• Economy: Ongoing uncertainty has longer term impact on
markets. Affected countries more significantly impacted.
• Timeframe: 12 to 18 months.
Assumptions:
• Contact tracing and population movement controls are
unsuccessful in containing the outbreak.
• Commercially available vaccine necessary to stop the spread of
the virus.
Impact:
• Workforce: Major global disruption, including home working,
travel restrictions and morbidity and mortality in the workforce.
• Supply chain: Global shortage of some goods due to
production slowdown.
• Economy: Increased risk of global recession dependent on
the severity of the pandemic.
• Timeframe: 12 to 18 months.

4. PwC Strategy & Operations
It requires setting up your COVID-19 response to be able to conduct effective and safe
operations across the End-2-End process integrated with …
4
• Can shift in patterns be managed in a different way to provide more cover
and separation between operational teams?
• Are handwashing facilities adequate, do you need to give colleagues any
additional PPE to help mitigate risks?
• Is it possible to reassign roles for staff even if this requires training (e.g.
retraining a office staff to parcel delivery / sorting operations)?
• Have you updated your policies regarding sick pay in order to support self-
isolation beyond what the government has advised?
• Have you set up an internal support helpline for staff?
• Are staff being provided with physical and mental health support in this
increasingly stressful situation?
• Have you prepared for indirect impacts on your staff (e.g. school closures,
transport disruption, localised lockdowns)?
• Are you able to flex your staffing to demand, while planning and
segregating for business continuity?
Workforce
Protect your people and plan your workforce
COVID-19 response strategy
• How often are logistics units, Line-hauls, PUDO’s and courier vans being
disinfected?
• Are you aware of the impact from COVID-19 on the End-2-End operational
process / types of products you process?
• Do you have logistics network crisis scenarios in terms of sorting hubs
black outs, regional lockdowns?
• Have you secured relevant capacity in the logistics network to provide
required operational efficiency? How long are you able to keep this level?
• Have you got relevant processes, equipment to conduct operations with
each type of products?
• Have you got enough fleet to manage sustained high volumes or shifts in
volume within a logistics network?
• Have you secured additional operational capacity for higher inventory
levels?
• Are you able to increase your sorting and operational capacity to logistics
units for a peak in demand with more consumers switching to
e-commerce?
• Are you maximizing the amount of inventory you hold (if possible) to
ensure you can operate if fuel supplies become limited?
• As air freight may be carried in the cargo bay of commercial passenger
airlines, what is the impact on your international volume flows or changes
to commercial schedules and cancellation of flights on key trade lanes
(supply of airfreight capacity not very elastic)?
• Is it possible to use alternate routes, if so, is it financially viable? Is it
possible to increase the road / train routes as they appear to be less
affected?
Operations
Maintain business continuity and manage efficiency of
your operations
• Have you considered a way to prevent physical contact with customers,
such as using lockers for deliveries or leaving parcels on doorsteps? Could
you ask consumers to notify you if they are showing symptoms of the virus
or self-isolating so extra caution can be applied?
• Have you secured relevant number resources for delivery? Number of
couriers? Number of courier vans? Number of parcel lockers?
• Have you secured relevant capacity of delivery vans in order to respond for
the growth of the volume?
• Are you able to increase your delivery capacity to account for a peak in
demand with more consumers switching to e-commerce?
• Delivery pattern changed as a results of increase „home office” model –
how can you adapt your operating model and / or mitigate the impact of
this?
• Has a prioritisation of delivering given types of goods been discussed
(medicines over luxury items)?
Delivery
Maintain last mile operations and protect your delivery
forces

5. PwC Strategy & Operations
… revised business operations affected by short- and long-term changes in customers’
behaviour patterns
5
• Do you have remote access and VPN applications in place for all
endpoint devices?
• Are your remote access and VPN applications scalable on demand?
• Do your VPN applications have multi-factor authentication in place?
• How do you manage user identity when they access systems
remotely?
• How do you provision user access when users access systems
remotely?
• Can you implement additional security controls to provide enhanced
control on the network (e.g. virtual network zoning, endpoint device
compliance checking, etc.)
• Does your security monitoring capability alert you on suspicious /
unusual VPN activity?
• Will network bandwidth support significant increased use of remote
access services or is there heightened potential for loss of service
(inadvertent DoS)?
Cyber security
Reviewing and upgrading existing technology to ensure
sufficient capacity
COVID-19 response strategy
• What are the options around pricing decisions and discounting?
• What additional surcharges can be implemented?
• Do you consider a switching to paperless process? (digital attempted
delivery notice, only printed waybills, digital complains’ form, etc.)
• Do you have a strategy for customers’ prioritisation in terms of
operation under capacity?
• Can we move more customers to scheduled pick up?
• Can we move more customers to self-service shipping solutions?
• Can we drive more volume to self service delivery, e.g. parcel
machines?
• As customer stockpile key essentials can you combine routes or
work with smaller operators to meet demand?
• Do we track customers’ performance in case of insolvency or
bankruptcy?
Customer and revenue
Balance customer care with commercial priorities
• Have you created an internal and external stakeholder map for key
communications (considering staff, customers, suppliers, regulators,
etc.)?
• Do you have a clear communications strategy that can be
implemented in a crisis to protect your reputation and maintain the
trust of your stakeholders?
• How are you communicating with your employees?
• How are you keeping employees regularly informed about the latest
updates and guidance?
• How are you providing reassurance and consistent messaging to all
staff and showing a duty of care?
• How are your crisis communications aligned with your organisation’s
culture and communications requirements?
• How can best practice approaches be tailored to suit your
• organisation?
Communication strategy
Provide clarity to employees and stakeholders
and enable business continuity

6. PwC Strategy & Operations
Beside short- and mid-range crisis planning below you can find a few quick wins on how to
grow you operational capacity
6
Potential process improvements
Implementing of a U-shaped roller conveyors. The use of such a system with 18 employees and 24 directions
allows achieving a max sorting capacity of 6,000 packages per hour
The use of three lines of roller conveyors for unloading packages. One person sorts into three groups based
on the code ranges (one group per one line). Later, 1-2 people sort them into courier groups. Then couriers
do final sorting of parcels into their own routes
Delegating a dedicated employee to consolidate shipments at large customer’s warehouse to speed up the
process and enable cross-dock operations
Parcel consolidation at the warehouse location of large clients
Using of three-lines roller conveyors from line-haul trucks during unloading
U-shape set-up for an additional manual sorting in depot or hub
Extra support for delivery force
Additional employee / helper during a delivery to increase the number of packages on a car stop as well as
depot employees who can load/unload couriers’ cars to increase couriers’ efficiency

7. Thank you!
Radosław Małkiewicz
Manager
Parcel & Postal
Knowledge Hub
+48 519 504 362
radoslaw.malkiewicz@pwc.com
+48 519 507 386
grzegorz.urban@pwc.com
Grzegorz Urban
Director
Parcel & Postal
Knowledge Hub