BUFFALO, N.Y. — We continue to hear from many of you, especially on social media, of people not able to find items you’re looking for at the grocery store. A UB professor says the grocery store industry was not prepared for a surge of customers in the coronavirus outbreak.
UB Professor Dr. Nallan Suresh, distinguished professor of operations management at UB, says for the past 10-15 years grocery stores have used a supply chain model to keep things pretty lean.
But, he says when the coronavirus outbreak hit the US many grocery stores weren’t prepared for a surge in customers.
Suresh says under normal circumstances, grocery store chains have a wide variety of products, but keep very little in their inventory. And, that while the industry forecasts customer habits, the industry did not prepare for a surge in customers even though it had a 3-4 week heads up to prepare.
And now, since this is a global pandemic, products cannot be easily shipped from other parts of the world.
"By hindsight, I think we could’ve said that we should also be looking at how consumers are behaving in other countries which were hit by this before us, so those are all lessons we will take going forward," Suresh said.
He adds that the grocery store industry over the years has learned to react to events such as natural disasters, but the coronavirus outbreak is different, he says shortened work hours and social distancing are just a couple issues that are affecting production.
We have heard from major local grocery stores such as Wegmans and Tops saying they’re trying to replenish store shelves.
Suresh says one good thing stores have done, is limiting the quantity of certain items that you can buy, and he expects the grocery stores to start being able to catch up in the next week or two.
Wegmans has issued the following statement:
"Coronavirus is impacting the retail industry around the world. While the unexpected increase in demand has challenged the supply chain, we’re seeing it start to equal out, and are confident it will stabilize as long as we all prioritize our needs. We have placed purchase limits on categories that are in high demand, allowing us to meet the needs of as many customers as possible. Although we may not have every variety available, we are working hard to give our customers options in each category. We continue to receive shipments to our stores every day, all day long. Time of day that you shop doesn’t necessarily make a difference, as loads come throughout the day.
Generally speaking, we’ve made adjustments to our product assortment. You may notice a reduced assortment across several departments in our stores and online. Temporarily suspending certain departments and streamlining our offerings will allow our employees to work safely and more efficiently, as we aim to serve as many customers as possible in these uncertain times. Our Delis, Bakery, Restaurant Foods and Floral will all be especially impacted by these changes."