You’ve always been able to acquire the necessary materials – thus preventing significant production problems. That’s no mean feat in these times. How do you go about it? What has proven effective?
You have to stick with it at all times and have more than just an eye on the market. Persistence and quick reactions are also needed in this type of situation. For the procurement of hygiene material, in particular, or vaccines, excellent business relationships and networks as well as intense tenacity have helped us. As a basic principle, we try to work proactively. That means we try to increase our stock of crucial materials in good time – or we look for alternatives. But because of our high quality requirements, it’s not easy to find those. But ultimately, one thing really pays off in cases of shortages: the fact that we enjoy fair cooperation and a relationship of trust with our strategic suppliers. We are now discussing the current supply situation even more intently. If you’ve been working together reliably for years – one party is a dependable supplier, the other pays on time – this will also pay off for both in times of crisis.
What is currently in particularly short supply that affects Bauerfeind?
We notice the tense market situation specifically for the raw materials that we need for the manufacture of our products as well as with logistics in general, i.e. supply chains. Plastics are in particularly short supply, which also affects our packaging.
How come?
It’s really various consequences from the pandemic adding up: because of the coronavirus, there was less production globally, so some things are in short supply. At the same time, demand has increased again over the past months, for primary materials and raw materials for example, especially from Asia. What makes it even more difficult is a lack of logistics capacities: work is not carried out as usual in ports, and containers are piling up. There are also not enough truck drivers.
What are the consequences?
Unfortunately, there are two kinds of consequences, for Bauerfeind, too. On the one hand, the shortage leads to huge price increases, for plastics and metals, for example. On the other hand, we’re having to wait a long time at the moment. It’s currently taking eight months for our product packaging to be delivered and six months for us to get the packaging for our shipments.
What supply problems currently affect Bauerfeind employees?
Our colleagues notice that it takes longer than usual for a new laptop, printer, or company car to arrive. But we’re always trying to find solutions so we can make sure we can get to work!