Whether you’re a consumer or a small business owner, you may be feeling the effects of supply chain issues stronger than ever at the moment. Are your orders taking much longer than anticipated to arrive? If your answer is yes, this is likely due to the disruption of the supply chain ecosystem, caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Rising demands and long lead times are two challenges that industries and retailers of all sorts are facing today, which includes our very own here at PURE. With the holidays just weeks ahead of us, concerns have only continued to heighten amongst consumers and business owners alike.

The onset of supply-chain problems that we’re seeing today stems from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The result has been a shortage in production of certain materials, products and labor which is causing immense delays that are incredibly difficult to predict.

So, what other challenges are our business and so many others currently facing?

Limited capacity in production facilities
Many production facilities are not operating at their fullest capacity, oftentimes operating at just half in an effort to mitigate and prevent the spread of the virus from occurring. The pandemic has imposed a record number of growth for many vendors, causing them to have a limited number of skilled labourers to be able to handle the high demand. We’ve also seen an increase in the amount of skilled labourers who have retired, making it that much harder for vendors to be able to meet the demand.

At PURE, it’s always been important for us to stay in touch with our vendors so that we can ensure that our customers can get what they need, at the right time. With this supply chain issue on the rise, it’s something we continue to make a priority.

Growing port congestion
With high demand from consumers all over the world, another factor to keep in mind is transport and storage. Many materials, shipments and products come from suppliers from different parts of the world. This is especially true as it relates to the materials that we use.

Port congestion is at an all-time high with many unable to continue loading due to being at maximum capacity. This not only increases prices of shipping overseas, but also causes even further ETA times for consumers and businesses to know when to expect their goods. Arguably one of the most infuriating and hardest to predict, port congestion is something many supply chains are still scrambling to find a solution to during this time.

Material shortage
The materials that many businesses source and use tend to be an essential part of their foundation. The design industry relies heavily on materials to be able to provide consumers with many services and needs.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, coupled with an increase in consumer demand, suppliers have experienced limited availability for parts and materials. We can see this in the design, appliance, furniture, clothing industries, and much more.

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has posed serious concerns and challenges that retailers like ourselves continue to experience day by day, however, with careful planning, we’re working our hardest to ensure that we’ll be able to overcome these challenges, one day at a time.

So, how are we at PURE navigating these ongoing challenges, and how can you best navigate these challenges as well?

At PURE, we’re prioritizing forecasting and new strategies so that it’s easier for us to keep our clients in the loop about expectations and delays. Transparency has and always will be at the forefront of our mission. This time has been incredibly difficult for many businesses, but has also been a source of immense growth as a whole.

For our clients, and with anticipated demand on the horizon with the holidays around the corner, we ask that you try to order weeks ahead of time to make up for potentially delayed shipments. These challenges have been affecting many businesses far and wide, but we have faith that we will overcome this as an even stronger entity than before.