## 4 Results--Case Study
### Analysis and Summary  
Gathering the outcomes presented in the previous sub-sections, the following synthetic considerations emerge. Looking first at the volumes of items handled by Company A (Figure 10), the trend across the four years of the timespan is somehow irregular, with peaks of demand close to holidays or sales promotion periods, followed by drops in summer months (when various activities are closed). The pre-COVID-19 period, in general, show quite a standard trend, which, excluding some months (July and December), appears as stationary. The COVID-19 period (2020-2021) shows, instead, a dramatic increase in the volume of items handled. In the first months of 2020, just before the spread of the pandemic, the volume of items handled was similar to that of the previous year; then, a sudden increase was observed from March onwards, corresponding to the months of national lockdown. Again, in summer, a slight decrease in f the volumes was recorded, while at the end of the year a new increase emerged, corresponding to some local lockdown situations. Overall, the trend for 2020 highlights an increase in the volume of items moved. The second year of the pandemic (2021) was characterized by the successful usage of vaccines and the spread of less dangerous (but more contagious) variants of the virus. Hence, that year began with very high volumes of items handled, which gradually decreased with the progressive success of the actions taken against COVID-19; overall, the trend recorded for 2021 tends downward. Finally, 2022, the last year analyzed, shows a gradual return to normality, which is reflected by a decrease in movements of items; in turn, such a decrease involves the partial reduction in online purchases, as many stores were allowed to resume their activities. Nonetheless, the volumes handled in 2022 appear to be comparable to those of the pre-COVID-19 period. From an economic point of view, the pandemic period involved a significant increase in the operating profit of Company A (Figure 11). Starting from the pre-COVID-19 period, in 2019 the company reached the highest number of newly contracted customers, with 20 new customers and 6 retained ones. In 2020, instead, contracts were signed with 14 new customers, but at the same time, some other customers were lost, mainly because of the strict regulations on parcels and shipments. Then, in the second year of the pandemic period, a new decrease in the number of contracted customers was observed, as a medium-term effect of the pandemic, but also because of the difficulties in adapting to new requests by the customers; overall, a negative outcome emerged. Finally, in 2022 the economic  
Figure 10: Trend in the volume of items handled by the case study company. outcome was positive, even if lower than in the COVID-19 period. Overall, the best economic outcomes were obtained in exactly the first year of the pandemic. The organization of Company A also changed from the pre-COVID-19 to the post-COVID-19 period, because of variations in the operational and corporate structure. In 2019, the staff of Company A consisted of nine employees and thirty-five drivers; two employees were enrolled and trained during the year, for insertion into the operational business unit. During 2020, the staff of the company increased in terms of employees (10 workers, with 4 of them in the operational business unit), but primarily in terms of drivers, the number of which increased from 35 to 58 (+65%), to respond to the increasing requests from customers. In the following years, the staff of Company A decreased, reaching values close to the pre-COVID-19 period. In particular, at the end of 2022, the number of workers was again 10, while the number of drivers decreased to 32. The set of considerations above, taken together, can be summarized into a SWOT analysis, which highlights the points listed below.