01 March 2022

New Zealand Service Announcement | COVID-19 | 1 Mar 2022

On Thursday 24 February, the Government announced a move to Phase 3 of their Omicron response, which focuses on managing Covid-19 safely at home with the wider use of Rapid Antigen Testing, along with changes to the classification and isolation requirements of close contacts.

While these changes have gone some way to help mitigate the impact on our team, we are still mindful of the effect on service levels both now and in the coming weeks.

As evidenced in the daily reported numbers, the Auckland and Waikato regions are the most affected by Omicron.  This is where we are seeing the greatest impact on team numbers especially in our Transport and Warehousing operations. To ensure consistent levels of service throughout New Zealand we are moving our team, where possible, between branches. As case numbers increase in other regions over the coming weeks, we will mobilise support across our network.
 
We continue to remind our customers to be vigilant in the following areas:

• Allow additional timeframes for the processing of orders. Due to the high utilization across our warehouses, please discuss any changes in inventory requirements with your local contacts.
• When booking orders for collection, either from your own site or alternative locations, please ensure they will be ready on the planned day and time to avoid re-collection costs.
• Advise your customers to expect an additional 1-2 working days transit.
• Container arrivals and quantities per vessel continue to cause container-holding challenges. Please ensure you communicate your requirements with your local branch to help manage demurrage and detention.
• For all depot drop-offs and collections we request that masks are worn at all times and contactless protocols are followed.
• For residential deliveries, please continue to supply contact numbers and allow additional transit days. NB: Please note that at this time we are not accepting residential collections. 

We are appreciative of your assistance as we manage the impacts caused by Covid-19 and the associated supply chain disruptions