Supply chain resilience now depends on energy diversification

For decades, fuel volatility has been treated as a cyclical operational challenge for the freight and logistics sector - something to absorb, hedge or pass through.

But the latest global fuel shock is reinforcing a much bigger reality: supply chain resilience is now critically dependent on energy resilience and diversification.

The conflict in the Middle East continues to destabilise global oil markets and place pressure on critical shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz, and Australian transport operators are once again facing rapid diesel price escalation, supply uncertainty and growing operational risk.

ANC – one of the country’s leading last mile delivery providers - has spent several years reshaping its operating model around this exact challenge - building a supply chain network designed to withstand volatility rather than simply react to it.

According to ANC CEO Dr Joe Sofra, the current disruption validates the importance of long-term investment in operational flexibility, electrification and business continuity capability.

“Energy volatility is no longer an occasional disruption event,” Sofra says. “It’s becoming a structural feature of the operating environment, and supply chains need to evolve accordingly.”

That evolution is already visible across ANC’s national network.

Rather than relying solely on traditional fleet structures and fixed operating models, ANC has been developing a multi-layered resilience framework focused on three core areas: operational continuity, network efficiency and energy diversification.

The objective is simple: optimise delivery outcomes while minimising operational friction and energy exposure.

At the centre of this strategy is ANC’s industry-leading investment in electric vehicles.

The company currently operates more than 100 EVs nationally, supported by deep operational expertise in charging infrastructure, vehicle deployment, route optimisation and fleet integration.

While EV adoption is often framed through a sustainability lens, ANC increasingly sees electrification as a resilience capability.

Electric fleets reduce dependence on diesel markets, create greater cost predictability and provide insulation from geopolitical fuel shocks that can rapidly destabilise traditional freight economics.

In a volatile energy environment, that diversification matters.

ANC is now actively working with supplier partners to accelerate EV deployment further, prioritising areas where electrification can materially improve continuity and operational stability for customers.

The business is also exploring higher utilisation models for EV assets, including double shifting and expanded operating windows, to maximise productivity from zero emissions vehicles.

The company’s commitment to EV adoption  with treating fuel disruption as a business continuity issue rather than a procurement issue.

ANC has also implemented flexible operational mechanisms designed to maintain continuity during periods of market instability. These include adaptive route optimisation, fleet utilisation balancing, delivery window flexibility and dynamic capacity management across both metropolitan and regional networks.

At the same time, ANC continues investing heavily in data-led operational optimisation.

The company’s network planning approach integrates demand forecasting, productivity modelling, fleet configuration analysis and scenario testing to proactively manage capacity before disruption impacts service performance.

This capability becomes particularly important during periods of economic uncertainty, where operators must simultaneously manage rising costs, fluctuating consumer demand and increasing service expectations.

For retailers and enterprise customers, the implications are significant.

Supply chain resilience is no longer just about warehouse capacity or transport availability. Increasingly, it is about whether logistics partners have the operational agility, energy flexibility and planning sophistication to continue delivering reliably in unstable conditions.

That requires a fundamentally different approach to network design.

Historically, many logistics models prioritised lean efficiency above all else. Today, the operating environment is demanding something more balanced: efficiency combined with resilience.

Businesses that can dynamically optimise routes, diversify energy sources, flex delivery models and maintain continuity under pressure will increasingly differentiate themselves in the market.

For ANC, the current fuel disruption reinforces why those investments matter.

While the immediate market conditions may eventually stabilise, the broader lesson is unlikely to disappear. Geopolitical instability, energy transition pressures and economic volatility are all reshaping the operating environment for transport and logistics providers globally.

The companies that succeed in this next phase will not simply be those that move goods efficiently.They will be the ones that can keep supply chains moving when conditions become unpredictable.

And increasingly, that resilience will depend on how intelligently they manage energy, fleet flexibility and operational adaptability.