supply chain issues

Order Your Supplies Now

Order any supplies
and other business essential goods
you’ll need
for the next four or five months
(at the minimum)
now.

Multiple wars are intensifying.
Climate change disasters are happening.
COVID and other pandemics
continue to impact…well…everything.
There’s political turmoil.
And other global issues.

Supply chains
will be strained
yet again
this year.

Shipments will be delayed
or won’t happen at all.
Production will be hampered.
Labor will be limited.

Order your supplies
now.

Subscription Models And Supply

I love the concept
of Amazon’s Subscribe And Save
service.

We sign up to buy
often used products
and they are sent to us
monthly.
We don’t have to think
about buying these items.
We set it up once
and can forget about it.

Except Amazon
rarely has the items
in stock.

50% of my monthly order
isn’t available
this month.

Last month, 30%
of my regular monthly order
wasn’t available.
Those unavailable products
were different
than the products
unavailable this month.

I have to rush to find
and buy alternatives to them.
And that’s d*mn irritating.

It is easier
and more reliable
to simply buy
multiples of the items
we need
once
and store them
in our homes.

Don’t offer a subscription service
of products/services
unless you can secure
their supply.

Order Mother’s Day Flowers Now

I ordered flowers
for my Mom
yesterday.
I scheduled them for delivery
the week before Mother’s Day.

Because I suspect
florists will run out
of flowers this year.

Mother’s Day is
the biggest flower delivery day
of the year.
Not everyone has a sweetheart.
Almost everyone
has a Mom.

Supply chains are
still extremely messed up.
Climate change is impacting
flower growing
and flower delivery.
The pandemic is still happening.

Florists also don’t want
to be left
with excess stock.
They have been going
through lean sales times.
They will likely
be cautious when ordering stock.

If you’re fortunate to have
a loving Mom,
order flowers for her now.

There aren’t
any guarantees
she’ll receive them.
Things happen.

But the odds she’ll have flowers
on Mother’s Day
will greatly increase.

Build In Buffer

In September,
I posted about the disruptions
in supply chains,
how the world is seeing
shortages on things like paper.

This week,
in Canada,
there was severe flooding in BC.
It has decimated ALL roads and rail
around some of Canada’s busiest ports.

The supply chain issues
for Canadian businesses
just got a LOT worse.

This is likely to be
our reality going forward
so build in buffer.

Have an extra printer cartridge
in the supply cabinet.
Order product you plan to resell
in advance.
(Definitely, relook at
insurance policies.)
Have spares for hard-to-replace parts.
Assume packages will take longer
to be delivered.

Build in buffer.

Buy In Stock

Supply chains are all messed up.
Retailers don’t know
when they’re receiving
the next shipment
of…well…anything.

I’m holiday shopping
right now.

I am only buying
things
that are shown
as being in stock,
items that SHOULD
be in the warehouse.

If an item isn’t showing
as being in stock,
I can’t count on receiving it
before the end of the year
or…ever.

If you need something quickly,
shop around
and buy from a store
that already has that something
in stock.

That ensures you’ll receive it.