Disruptions in the supply chain appear to be too common in today’s marketplace and unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. Reports of cargo ships sitting outside of ports unable to unload their goods, (Forty-four freight ships are stuck awaiting entry into California’s two largest ports, the highest number recorded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marine Exchange of Southern California reported on Saturday.) to shortages of computer chips for all kinds of devices are stories we read about frequently. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Bob Tita writes, “Manufacturers are stacking up unfinished goods on factory floors and parking incomplete vehicles in airport parking lots while waiting for missing parts, made scarce by supply-chain problems. Shortages of mechanical parts, commodity materials and electronic components containing semiconductor chips have been disrupting manufacturing across multiple industries for months.” While this was written about trucks, tractors and other automobiles, the same opportunities are there for most industries.
So what are manufacturers and retailers to do? The first thing to do is to understand the issues, examine your business and find creative ways to deal as effectively as possible. Chanel No. 5 is one of those iconic brands that is looking at aspects of their manufacturing and being proactive. Wary of disappearing flower crops used in its best-selling perfumes, fashion and beauty firm Chanel has bought up more land in southern France to secure its supplies of jasmine and other varieties, harvested by hand in a delicate annual ritual.
You may not be able to vertically integrate and improve your chances of getting all the components needed for your operation, but hoping things will change and you get what you need may be a strategy, but in today’s world, it would be a bad strategy. A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the upcoming holiday shopping season and we concluded that it will still be ok, but it will definitely take great planning. There will be issues no doubt, but there is still time to make adjustments. Empty shelves mean empty cash registers. The pandemic has had far reaching impact on us all in many ways. Ask questions to everyone you do business with and be ready to make changes based on the responses.
About AKCEL Partners: AKCEL Partners is a sales consultancy founded by three executives with strong bonds throughout the textile, apparel, brand and retail industries. AKCEL Partners offers strategic sales planning combined with experienced, highly networked sales professionals who give clients immediate access to targeted decision-makers. We are dedicated to meeting or exceeding our clients’ short- and long-term revenue goals. To learn more, go to www.AKCELPartners.com.
