Feature: Distribution & Logistics

Distribution dilemmas

Brexit, that was supposed to be the big bad problem facing UK businesses in 2020, how wrong we were. Instead, it was a global pandemic that caused signi cant disruption and drama in addition to the added paperwork involved after Britain left the EU. And while we all hoped the pandemic would be a short blip, sadly it has dragged on for over 18 months and the impact is continuing to be felt in many di erent ways across industry, within workplaces, economically and in regards to distribution and logistics. And with di erent regions and countries at di erent stages in their Covid recovery, the impacts are going to continue for some time.

We have all heard some horror stories about delays and problems

with distribution and logistics domestically and internationally due to a number of factors. There are shortages in a variety of areas - raw material shortages, labour shortages or just sta being unable to work, container shortages, and even transport driver shortages. Freight costs are on the rise across all sectors, whether its air, sea, rail or road. Many businesses have faced increased demand but may not have the facilities or sta to be able to manage that demand given the circumstances.

Yet even with the issues being faced by businesses, it isn’t all doom and gloom when some clever planning and ingenuity can help the situation as we learn from our industry experts.

Viewpoints

Kathleen Schicht, senior director supply chain management dining & lifestyle, Villeroy & Boch

Have you faced any distribution and logistical issues in the wake of the pandemic? A strong increase in demand from our online-shop brought a lot of challenges to our logistics and distribution system. But luckily we had planned a new order picking and packaging system before the pandemic and we were able to speed up the installation. It started April 2020 under critical conditions as we and the construction companies had to follow all legal pandemic constraints. But we managed to complete on time just before the Black Week and the Christmas shopping season. The start-up of the new machinery helped us get keep up with the huge market requirements and meet demand faster than before and on time.

What are the biggest challenges your business is facing when it comes to international distribution? Our American and Asian customers are supplied by regional warehouses. To ensure product availability there we deliver to our warehouses via container ships. Right now, this is di cult because containers are scarce and expensive, resulting in long delivery times. Have you had any problems within your supply chain? Due to the coincidence of the high order volumes and of the Corona-related ongoing raw material procurement bottlenecks we have experienced some supply chain delays and production di culties. Some novelty launches have unfortunately been slightly delayed this year, but we hope to get back on track in the second half of the year. By working closely together with our suppliers and logistic partners we manage the situation and try to minimize the impact on our customers.

Anand Baldawa, CEO Seeba | thinKitchen

What are the biggest challenges your business is facing when it comes to international distribution? The global market has faced issues of delayed deliveries, primarily for two reasons, shortage of resources (Labour and Raw material) and congestion at ports. Costs at all levels have been on a continuous rise. At Seeba™|thinKitchen™, we made a point to maintain higher than average inventory and dispatch shipment before time to ensure that customer deliveries were not delayed.

Have you had any problems within your supply chain? The supply chain was a ected during the pandemic. At times the suppliers failed to deliver on time, and to prevent an “out of stock” situation, we had to hold stock over our regular stock levels. However, this also helped us complete dispatches in time. Have you faced any distribution and logistical issues in the wake of the pandemic? Thanks to the success of our brand in the last years we have also been able to increase dramatically the amount of stock we keep in US and we now have about 6 months’ worth of sales of our 700 best-selling SKUs.

What are the biggest challenges your business is facing when it comes to international distribution? The main challenge for us is to nd the right partners in each market. In 2021 it is still true that people are who make the company successful. In markets where we have partners who understand the values of our brand the brand is strong and well known.

Have you had any problems within your supply chain? At MEPRA we are proud manufacturers and this has been a great competitive advantage in today’s market. We do not need to rely on suppliers to guarantee stock to be available for our customers. We make our products and thanks to our lean manufacturing

Josh Rammell, marketing manager, Utopia Tableware

Have you faced any distribution and logistical issues in the wake of the pandemic? Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been ongoing challenges throughout the world with logistics. We have seen freight costs increase, whether getting products by sea, rail or air, which has meant we have had to look at inventive ways to get our products both into the UK and out to our international customers. These problems started with the slowdown at the start of the pandemic, but then the massive increase in retail and e-commerce purchases increased global demand drastically. This has meant unprecedented challenges for shipping goods, which are set to continue for some time.

Brexit has posed its own challenges, with new regulations on exporting and importing goods to and from the EU.

With all of these challenges it was vital for us to be on top of incoming information, so we could continuously adapt our planning and communication with our customers and keep everyone aware of the changing environment. What are the biggest challenges your business is facing when it comes to international distribution? The biggest challenges are the rising costs of freight and the new legislation changes with Brexit. But, as with the pandemic, a lot of the challenges are from the unknown, not being able to predict or plan due to the changing environment. We are fortunate that we have always had a strong handle on logistics. It allows us to navigate with the knowledge we have good partners and a strong communication network with our customers. Have you had any problems within your supply chain? We are lucky to have strong supply partners throughout the world who we can rely on. However, the situation for manufacturers everywhere has been greatly a ected and we have had to work together to nd new solutions, planning ahead while being aware of the need to be able to adapt those plans to the changing environment.

The rising costs of raw materials, the fact that the economic recovery from the pandemic is at di erent stages around world, and several other factors have meant that we and our partners have to be much more reactive in the short term, while keeping an eye on the long term.

Beatriz Ball, founder of Beatriz Ball

Have you faced any distribution and logistical issues in the wake of the pandemic? Like all companies contracting with overseas manufacturers, we’ve had our share of challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Shipping delays, higher costs, and slower transport times are all realities we’ve had to face.

What are the biggest challenges your business is facing when it comes to international distribution? Our distribution is primarily concentrated in the US and Canada, so that has not been an issue for us. Happily, our Mexico-based foundry still manufactures the bulk of our merchandise, so we are not negatively impacted there, as our transborder supply chain continues uninterrupted. Have you had any problems within your supply chain? In an e ort to counteract the various supply chain issues that are plaguing international commerce, we have encouraged our retail customers to “pre-order” merchandise a season ahead, and are ordering goods far in advance. We have also expanded our warehouse personnel and improved resources in order to get out more packages.