How the Global Supply Chain Constraints Are Affecting Your Orders & Delivery Times
If you’ve been wondering why your orders lately have longer lead times or there never seems to be enough stock, it’s not just you. The entire promo industry is experiencing the effects of the global supply chain issues, which is mostly due to port congestion, factory shutdowns, increased demands, and suppliers closing down. How does this affect you as an end consumer? Read below to find out.
1. Increased prices
With great demand comes higher prices. Items in high demand such as face masks, fitness equipment, rapid antigen tests, tote bags and cooler bags have increased in price as the years in the pandemic wear on. And this is the same all over the world. Fortunately, we here at Brandconnect have made it our mission to find the lowest priced yet high-quality items among reputable suppliers. This allows us to update our prices regularly and be able to have a Lowest-Price Guarantee where we promise to beat any like-for-like quote (terms and conditions apply).
2. Longer turnaround times
You may have noticed that orders are taking a bit longer than they used to. Longer turnaround times are caused by multiple factors, such as stock shortage, port congestion, logistics delays, and more. It is for this reason that we advise our clients to order earlier especially during peak months to avoid delays. We also work with them hand-in-hand to ensure that the production process runs smoothly and without delays.
3. Suppliers & distributors closing down shop
The global supply chain issues have been tough on the entire promo industry. Many promo businesses have closed down both on the supplier and distributor side. If the last promo company you ordered from has gone AWOL or worse, they disappear just when you are about to order, choose a more established promo company like us! We won’t be going anywhere with our 20+ years of experience working with some of the biggest brands in Australia and the world.
4. Labour shortage
Since it’s harder to chase up stock and deal with logistical nightmares, our employees are now working twice as hard and many of them are resigning. As you know, a promo account manager can make or break a promotional campaign. They know so much about your business, needs, and preferences. So much responsibility lies on their shoulders that it can be disconcerting to work with a new one. As Brandconnect believes in promoting the welfare and the happiness of all people within the promotional products value chain, we treat our staff like family. We also only work with suppliers who have the same ethical stance.
5. Shortage in stocks
It is difficult to meet the demands of high-volume orders during this period. To solve this problem, we can pool the stock from multiple suppliers. However, this doesn’t always work as sometimes there just isn’t enough stock. What we can do is suggest alternatives to the item or send the items in installments. If you can also anticipate that you’ll be needing a high volume of an item, you can also order earlier so that we’ll have enough time to stockpile the items to meet your needs.
Together we’ll get through the global supply chain problems!
Some factors may be beyond our control but with better collaboration between distributors and clients, we can work around the problems and find a solution that suits all parties. For inquiries and orders, you can book a call here.
