Canada is known for its harsh winters, but adverse weather conditions affect supply chains year-round. From blizzards and freezing rain to flooding and wildfires, extreme weather events create significant challenges for transportation, warehousing, and last-mile delivery. The latest snowstorm, which hit parts of Canada earlier in February, caused widespread delays, with road closures, airport shutdowns, and backlogged shipments disrupting businesses nationwide. Companies that rely on steady shipments must mitigate these disruptions to maintain efficiency and customer satisfaction.
To stay ahead of unpredictable weather challenges, businesses using Microsoft Dynamics 365 must upgrade their shipping solution. This includes leveraging predictive analytics for route planning, securing temperature-controlled storage, and leveraging multi-carrier shipping solutions like NMB Gateway for Parcel. These solutions provide greater flexibility, visibility, and cost control, ensuring operations continue even when the weather is uncooperative.
The Biggest Weather-Related Challenges in Canadian Supply Chains
1) Severe Weather Delays
One of the most significant challenges posed by Canadian winters—and other extreme weather events—is its unpredictability. Snowstorms, freezing rain, high winds, and even heavy fog can lead to road closures, flight cancellations, and port shutdowns. When transportation grinds to a halt, supply chains experience delays that ripple across industries, affecting retailers, manufacturers, and distributors alike.
To mitigate these disruptions, businesses should incorporate predictive analytics and weather forecasting tools into their logistics planning, allowing them to proactively adjust shipment schedules. Establishing backup transportation routes and working with multiple carriers ensures flexibility in delivery options, helping companies avoid prolonged downtime when primary routes become inaccessible.
2) Frozen or Damaged Goods
Extreme temperatures (cold or sweltering heat) can damage temperature-sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals, food products, and electronics. Even short periods of exposure to suboptimal conditions can compromise the integrity of these shipments, resulting in financial losses and potential safety hazards.
To prevent this, companies must invest in temperature-controlled packaging and insulated containers. Partnering with carriers specializing in cold-chain logistics adds an extra layer of protection, ensuring shipments are handled carefully. Real-time shipment monitoring further enhances security, allowing businesses to track environmental conditions and take corrective action before damage occurs.
3) Increased Transportation Costs
Weather-related delays often lead to increased transportation expenses. When routes are disrupted, businesses may need to reroute shipments, schedule emergency deliveries, or consume additional fuel due to extended travel times. Over time, these unexpected costs can put strain on budgets and reduce profit margins.
Shippers can balance cost and reliability by optimizing carrier selection through data-driven insights. Transportation management solutions help identify the most efficient and cost-effective routes, reducing unnecessary expenses. Additionally, negotiating seasonal contracts with carriers can lock in better rates and provide stability during peak weather-related disruptions.
4) Warehouse and Fulfillment Center Disruptions
Warehouses and fulfillment centers aren’t immune to weather-related challenges. Power outages, heating system failures, and employee shortages due to unsafe travel conditions can hinder operations and cause further delays in processing and shipping orders.
Investing in backup power generators and climate control systems ensures warehouses remain operational despite adverse weather conditions. Implementing remote work options for administrative and planning teams keeps logistics running smoothly even when employees cannot reach the facility. Automation within D365 warehouse processes reduces in-person labour, which results in improved efficiency and unforeseen downtime.
5) Last-Mile Delivery Challenges
Last-mile delivery is one of the areas most affected by severe weather. Hazardous conditions can make it difficult for delivery drivers to reach destinations on time, leading to missed delivery windows and frustrated customers.
Leveraging advanced route optimization and delivery tracking tools can help businesses minimize delays by finding the safest and most efficient paths. Proactive communication with customers about potential delays manages expectations and builds trust, while offering alternative pickup locations or flexible delivery windows provides additional convenience for customers in hard-to-reach areas.
The Role of NMB Gateway for D365 in Overcoming Weather-Related Supply Chain Challenges
A powerful multi-carrier shipping solution like NMB Gateway for Parcel is invaluable for shippers facing Canada’s challenging weather conditions. Integrating a comprehensive list of carriers into D365 Finance and Supply Chain allows businesses to switch delivery modes as needed. Greater carrier selection provides added flexibility, reducing dependencies on single carrier service options - ensuring uninterrupted operations.
Real-time shipment tracking provides visibility into current shipping statuses, enabling businesses to proactively address potential delays and inform customers with accurate delivery estimates. This level of transparency improves customer satisfaction and allows companies to make data-driven decisions about rerouting or expediting shipments when necessary.
By leveraging the NMB Power BI dashboard, businesses can access key shipping KPIs to make informed decisions that enhance supply chain efficiency. The dashboard provides actionable insights, helping companies identify trends, optimize carrier selection, and proactively mitigate potential disruptions.
When integrating NMB Gateway for TMS with Microsoft D365 with a state-of-art TMS like Shipwell, businesses can further enhance their shipping strategy. These tools offer real-time carrier data, optimized route planning, and seamless communication between all supply chain stakeholders, ensuring shipments stay on track even in the face of adverse weather conditions. Additionally, connecting with enterprise-level TMS platforms provides access to advanced route optimization features, allowing companies to navigate disruptions more efficiently while keeping costs under control – all within the comforts of native D365 screens.
Another critical feature of NMB Gateway for Parcel is its automated rate shopping capability.
Since shipping costs fluctuate significantly during extreme weather, the system continuously compares rates across multiple carriers to ensure businesses always secure the best deal for parcel and LTL shipments. This feature helps control expenses during peak disruption periods without sacrificing delivery reliability.
Due to hazardous material handling, customs delays, and increased carrier restrictions, shipping regulations often become more complex during adverse weather events. NMB Gateway for Parcel streamlines shipping compliance by automating carrier-specific HazMat document generation to include item-level classifications like UN#s, IATA, Hazard codes and more - ensuring regulatory requirements are routinely met, preventing costly shipping delays caused by incomplete or incorrect paperwork.
For businesses using Microsoft Dynamics 365, NMB Gateway for Parcel integrates seamlessly, allowing real-time data synchronization via dedicated carrier API connectivity and streamlined order processing. This reduces manual data entry errors and enhances operational efficiency, enabling businesses to pivot and maintain smooth operational workflows even when unexpected weather disruptions threaten supply chain efficiency.
Preparing Your Supply Chain for Success in Any Weather
Adverse weather conditions are unavoidable in Canada, but supply chains don’t have to suffer. Shippers can minimize disruptions and keep supply chain operations running smoothly year-round by leveraging predictive analytics, optimizing transportation strategies, and implementing advanced shipping solutions like NMB Gateway for D365.
With multi-carrier flexibility, real-time tracking, automated rate shopping, and seamless Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration, NMB Gateway for Parcel is an essential tool for businesses navigating the complexities of weather-related logistics challenges.
Want to learn how NMB Gateway for Parcel can help your business stay resilient in unpredictable weather? Contact us for a demo: nmbsolutions.ca/contact-us
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Sources:
"Severe Weather, Delta Crash Disrupt Air Shipments in US and Canada." FreightWaves, 20 Feb. 2025, https://www.freightwaves.com/news/severe-weather-delta-crash-disrupt-air-shipments-in-us-and-canada.
"Climate Change Impacts on Canada's Food Supply Cold Chain." National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, 2023, https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/climate-change-impacts-canadas-food-supply-cold-chain.
"Extreme Weather's Impact on Supply Chains." Resilinc, 30 Nov. 2021, https://www.resilinc.com/blog/extreme-weathers-impact-on-supply-chains/.
"Widespread Flooding in Canada Leads to Widespread Supply Chain Disruptions." FourKites, 2023, https://www.fourkites.com/blogs/canada-flooding-impact-on-supply-chain/.
"How Extreme Weather Affects Prices Along the Food Supply Chain." Canadian Poultry Magazine, 2024, https://www.canadianpoultrymag.com/from-farm-to-table-how-extreme-weather-affects-prices-along-the-food-supply-chain/.
"Building More Resilient, Fluid Supply Chains in Canada." Railway Association of Canada, 2023, https://www.railcan.ca/publication/strengthening-all-links-building-more-resilient-fluid-supply-chains-in-canada/.
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