I understand how they got delayed initially, but what factors have prevented things from rebounding? For instance, I work in the medical field an am being told some product is “backordered” multiple times a week. Besides inventing a time machine, what concrete things are preventing a return to 2019 supplys?
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I work for a underground utility supplier:
We’re lucky everything we have is made domestically so we can cut any problems in China out of the equation.
Customers would typically order based on need knowing lead times on production would be 2-3 months.
Customers panicked and ordered a year worth of inventory.
Manufactures in turn prioritized the highest cost items because they like money, leaving the lower cost items from being manufactured creating a huge back log on those.
Lead times on the lower cost items needed to complete projects is still sitting around 12-18 months while manufacturers keep trying to pump out the higher cost items to make their profits look good.
There are plenty of companies in the supply chain that didn’t survive the pandemic, and folded completely. Leaving everyone else to pick up their work as well as their already established contracts.
Passenger transport has had the same issues. I run a bus company that does school work mostly. Excursions, sports, camps, etc.
Other companies lost drivers to health concerns over the pandemic, retirement, or younger staff needing full time work to support their families, while there was no work for schools or groups during the lockdowns and the year following.
This caused some companies to close completely, and most of the rest left standing, to have a shortage of drivers. A few might have come back once work got going again – especially the older drivers nearing retirement, but those who needed financial stability didn’t return.
In my case, I had enough work to keep one full-timer and one casual employed throughout the pandemic – from a total workforce of 6. I went from 13 operating vehicles, to 5. I cannot get new drivers. I put one guy on, who did two shifts, and changed his mind.
I am constantly turning down jobs because we are already fully booked, and I have to look after my regular customers first. I’ve had calls from schools with kids waiting on the side of the road for a bus they booked with another company weeks ago, who have either failed to turn up, or called and told them they couldn’t do the job anymore.
It’s the same for the freight companies. The same, if not more, work to be done, and not enough resources to go around.
I work for a underground utility supplier:
We’re lucky everything we have is made domestically so we can cut any problems in China out of the equation.
Customers would typically order based on need knowing lead times on production would be 2-3 months.
Customers panicked and ordered a year worth of inventory.
Manufactures in turn prioritized the highest cost items because they like money, leaving the lower cost items from being manufactured creating a huge back log on those.
Lead times on the lower cost items needed to complete projects is still sitting around 12-18 months while manufacturers keep trying to pump out the higher cost items to make their profits look good.
I work for a underground utility supplier:
We’re lucky everything we have is made domestically so we can cut any problems in China out of the equation.
Customers would typically order based on need knowing lead times on production would be 2-3 months.
Customers panicked and ordered a year worth of inventory.
Manufactures in turn prioritized the highest cost items because they like money, leaving the lower cost items from being manufactured creating a huge back log on those.
Lead times on the lower cost items needed to complete projects is still sitting around 12-18 months while manufacturers keep trying to pump out the higher cost items to make their profits look good.
It took us decades to build those supply lines. The pandemic didn’t just delay them, it broke them. Shipping companies closed, material suppliers closed, equipment was retired, people who know things moved on, or just died.
It’s not easy to rebuild all that, even if we have a rough idea of what it’s supposed to look like.
It took us decades to build those supply lines. The pandemic didn’t just delay them, it broke them. Shipping companies closed, material suppliers closed, equipment was retired, people who know things moved on, or just died.
It’s not easy to rebuild all that, even if we have a rough idea of what it’s supposed to look like.
For my industry, the demand for our products didn’t stop, the orders just kept coming. So while manufacturers fell behind on delivering to us, our need never slowed down. The result was that we currently have a compounded backlog of orders that are still unfulfilled.
Let’s say you’re used to feeding your puppy three dog treats every day. Suddenly, you can only get one dog treat a day. But he still demands three a day, and you order three a day, with the missing two on backorder.
Fast forward to the end of a week where you’ve only been able to get seven treats but your puppy has demanded 21 treats. You’re behind by 14 treats *that are still owed to the puppy.*
Now, your treat supplier is back up to supplying three treats a day, which matches your need but doesn’t address your missing treats. Furthermore, inflation has caused the treats to go up in price.
So now the supplier is stuck making treats at a loss because the orders were placed before inflation, **or** they can focus on new orders first to offset the cost of the old cheaper orders. Once there’s some profit, then they can buy ingredients to make the cheaper treats. (The same treats, just not as profitable.)
You have no control over this and your puppy is *pissed* at having to wait for his treats. He writes terrible online reviews and complains to the BBB (better barking bureau) about how you’re in breach of contract and refuses to pay for any of the treats you’ve already given him because they were late and demands extra ~~compensation~~ pets for pain and suffering.
It doesn’t help that the neighbor puppy, who just started buying treats, get them on time because the treat supplier is struggling and gives new customers preferential treatment.
*(None of this goes into the loss of headcount at the treat making company, who went through something similar with the companies that provide *them* with ingredients.)*
*Edit: Thanks for the awards! You guys, gals, n pals rock!*
It took us decades to build those supply lines. The pandemic didn’t just delay them, it broke them. Shipping companies closed, material suppliers closed, equipment was retired, people who know things moved on, or just died.
It’s not easy to rebuild all that, even if we have a rough idea of what it’s supposed to look like.
For my industry, the demand for our products didn’t stop, the orders just kept coming. So while manufacturers fell behind on delivering to us, our need never slowed down. The result was that we currently have a compounded backlog of orders that are still unfulfilled.
Let’s say you’re used to feeding your puppy three dog treats every day. Suddenly, you can only get one dog treat a day. But he still demands three a day, and you order three a day, with the missing two on backorder.
Fast forward to the end of a week where you’ve only been able to get seven treats but your puppy has demanded 21 treats. You’re behind by 14 treats *that are still owed to the puppy.*
Now, your treat supplier is back up to supplying three treats a day, which matches your need but doesn’t address your missing treats. Furthermore, inflation has caused the treats to go up in price.
So now the supplier is stuck making treats at a loss because the orders were placed before inflation, **or** they can focus on new orders first to offset the cost of the old cheaper orders. Once there’s some profit, then they can buy ingredients to make the cheaper treats. (The same treats, just not as profitable.)
You have no control over this and your puppy is *pissed* at having to wait for his treats. He writes terrible online reviews and complains to the BBB (better barking bureau) about how you’re in breach of contract and refuses to pay for any of the treats you’ve already given him because they were late and demands extra ~~compensation~~ pets for pain and suffering.
It doesn’t help that the neighbor puppy, who just started buying treats, get them on time because the treat supplier is struggling and gives new customers preferential treatment.
*(None of this goes into the loss of headcount at the treat making company, who went through something similar with the companies that provide *them* with ingredients.)*
*Edit: Thanks for the awards! You guys, gals, n pals rock!*
Imagine you built an awesome rune goldberg machine and someone decided to trow a hand grenade at it.
Everyone who worked on it quit and now you have half the amount of people trying to get the pingpong ball trigger the record player but half the team has never actually seen how it used to work.
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