At a time when precautionary measures are keeping people indoors to stem the spread of COVID-19, courier services have become a lifeline for maintaining the supply chain.
Braving threats of contracting the disease, delivery men and women are reaching the doorsteps to drop off consignments, be they food, books, sanitizers or health equipment.
Sezgin Akar, brand manager of Yurtiçi Cargo, said during these times, courier service carriers are the real superheroes.
Akar told Anadolu Agency (AA) that life in quarantine would be more difficult for people if his delivery staff were not on the streets.
He lamented, however, that despite consumer e-commerce showing energy, overall shipments have not grown much, contrary to expectations.
"There is an increase in shopping orders from residential districts but other than, that there is no increase in the shipments compared to the pre-epidemic period. Many of our units are facing a serious decline in business," he said.
Akar noted that due to the inability of people to go out on the streets to shop, individual e-commerce shipments have increased.
He mentioned that there is a rise in food product orders like bread and mincing machines in addition to an increase in the sale of books, sports equipment, soaps, sanitizers and shaving products.
Protecting staff from virus
Yurtiçi Cargo has taken several steps to cope up with the traffic and to comply with orders from residential districts. They are changing staff assignments from low-density units to busier ones.
Akar said they have imposed some restrictions on their e-commerce purchases to keep the staff safe and avoid contracting the virus.
"Yurtiçi Cargo is Turkey's largest and oldest cargo company with 5,000 cargo vehicles and 16,000 employees. But as you would also appreciate we have limits and we stop any cargo purchases that are harmful to our employees," he said.
He said that transfer centers and branch offices are regularly disinfected and that delivery personnel do not make any contact with customers.
"Instead of signing papers while receiving a consignment, a verification code is sent as a text message so no contact is made," Akar said.
He went on to say the company has come out with crisis plans and is prepared to face all possible situations.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Turkey rose by 2,936 to 117,589, Health Ministry data showed Wednesday. The number of fatalities increased by 89 to 3,081, continuing a downward trend.
A total of 44,022 people have so far recovered from the new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19.
Workers require extra motivation
"Cargo employees are one of the most valuable parts of the service industry today. Especially during this period, they play a key role in keeping the flow of life intact. It makes us happy that some of our customers are aware of this and approach our couriers with empathy," Akar said.
He noted that some people treat their staff like family and give them cakes and treats during working hours.
Akar also noted that since workers need extra motivation these days, they have announced supplemental benefits such as salary increases, bonuses and market checks.
"As a sector, we think that we have an important role in the fight against the epidemic. For this reason, we observe all precautions and continue our operations without any malfunction as our civic duty," Akar said.
He said that the cargo business is vital for the health care industry and the entire supply chain. He maintained that courier services are performing this responsibility to their fullest potential.