An industry survey has found that 95% of the logistics sector is not prepared for dealing with the supply chain overload expected to occur during the London 2012 Olympics.
The survey conducted by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) also revealed that around a third of logistic companies say they have “no knowledge” of how the newlyintroduced Olympic route network will operate in the summer.
Deliveries and collections will inevitably be disrupted during the Olympic Games, due to parking and road restrictions around and on routes to game venues. At certain times it is expected that deliveries and collections will not be possible at all.
The results of the survey came after Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the Olympics as being “on time and on budget”; this is far from the thoughts of the logistic companies. The sector is sure to face huge demands when the Olympics roll into town, and Natalie Chapman, FTA Head of Policy for London has warned that residents and businesses could face everyday disruptions and miss out on revenue due to confused and overloaded vehicle operators.
Ms Chapman commented: “How well London copes with hosting the world’s largest sporting event will depend largely on how well prepared the logistics sector is at managing the unique challenge it faces: making more deliveries in a much tighter time frame.”
The FTA believes that alarm bells should be ringing within the industry and that companies need to start preparing for the demands that the Olympics will inevitably bring.