INSIDE DELIVERY PLATFORMS: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND AFTER

Abstract

The coronavirus crisis of 2020 has highlighted the fragility of many traditional economic sectors, but also of activities belonging to the field of the collaborative economy. This is particularly true for delivery platforms, which are a component of the “gig economy.” At the worst moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, gig workers acting as independent microentrepreneurs for the platforms continued to deliver meals and parcels, despite significant health risks. Once the crisis was over, the European political authorities took drastic social (physical) distancing measures to avoid a second wave of contamination. These measures threaten the model of delivery platforms because gig workers are naturally in direct contact with consumers at home or at work. The new world resulting from the coronavirus crisis could lead to the privileged use of supply chain professionals, and therefore deeply transform the fundamentals of the delivery platform model.