In March 2020, the Coronavirus was starting to make an impact in the United States with outbreak cases concentrated in the coastal states of New York and California. At the time, both federal and state health agencies were in the process of figuring out who would control the acquisition and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help reduce the transmission of the virus. In this process, the limited domestic production of PPE was designated for government use and distribution.

Unfortunately, the situation created a void where many US manufacturing and production facilities could not obtain the necessary equipment to reduce the likelihood of their associates contracting and/or transmitting the virus. To further complicate the situation, business designated as “essential” for food production, like the meat packagers, were caught between trying to keep their associates safe and meeting the demands of the US market. To further complicate the situation, due to inferior products hitting the market, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented import quotas for inspection reasons, which reduced the importation of the PPE.

The SkuTouch Group divisions, SkuTouch Solutions and Asia Direct Logistics (ADL) were able to source, purchase, and distribute PPE on behalf of the buying association. In this process, local ADL personnel were able to make manufacturing facility visits and supply the buyer with video of the manufacturing process along with testing results. Once manufactured, SkuTouch Solutions was able to work with its US based transportation partners and customs to get the product air lifted into the east coast where ground transportation retrieved the cargo and followed up with last mile transportation.