Euro 2020 is here and despite the easing of  COVID-19 restrictions with pubs finally allowed to open their doors, many fans are expected to cheer on their nation from the side-lines at home, prompting the first ‘stay-at-home’ tournament in a generation.

With fans shunning the pub in favour of the patio, data-driven supply chain company, C.H Robinson is predicting a boom in BBQ’s and a frenzy in football memorabilia resulting in an upturn in the home delivery market.

But how do sport-related consumables reach consumers’ front doors?

Chris Mills, director of account management, transportation at C.H. Robinson Europe, said: “The sports industry, like any other, is dependent on supplies and deliveries aided by intuitive supply chains that can get goods from A to B. Not dislike professional footballers, supply chains have been in training for months ahead of Euro 2020 as they gear up for the spike in demand from armchair supporters for electrical goods, garden furniture, BBQ’s and frozen foods.

“With some consumers reluctant to visit the high street, online has increasingly become the convenient way to shop. Harnessing historical data and intelligence, we’ve helped suppliers, manufacturers and retailers prepare for a huge surge in online purchases and warned about the potential for them to be concentrated in a small-time frame ahead of the tournament.”

C.H. Robinson’s alliance with the Microsoft Corporation combining the power of its Navisphere multi-modal transportation management platform with the multinational technology company’s Azure cloud platform and Internet of Things can create a logistics solution that supports the need for enhanced real time insights and visibility. It incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence to support predictive analytics, IOT device monitoring for greater intelligence on products whilst in transit, premier data security and increased application speed.

“Collaborations such as these are critical to adapt to the abnormal strains that are placed on supply chains caused by major surges for goods online, like the situation that’s occurred pre-Euro 2020. 

“Our predictive analytic technologies mean we have the capability to see things and act on them before they happen. This helps supply chains deal with the unpredictable and takes supply chain management from real time to prior time, from ‘track and trace’ to ‘predict and prevent’ to enable supply chains to respond to ever changing market conditions before they occur.

“Access to data allows us to predict trends and notify customers before issues things occur and this foresight will ensure this is a tournament to remember for all the right reasons.”