By: Esther Meima Sales Manager
As
the world continues to manage various challenges related to the
COVID-19
pandemic, supply chain issues have become a very notable concern on
a global
scale.
In
fact, every aspect of most international supply chains has been
affected—everything from limited vessel space for ocean cargo to
shortages of important
packaging materials such as plastic and cardboard. This has
generated an
environment in which procurement and logistics are more complicated
than ever.
In
North America, perhaps the most newsworthy example of the issues
affecting
imports into the United States is the Port of Los Angeles,
California.
According to CNN, “a record-setting 10.7 million 20-foot containers
passed
through the Port of Los Angeles in 2021.”
[i]
At the same time, labor and equipment shortages at the port have
notably
extended transit times for cargo ships destined for L.A., as well as
port
discharge times. The number of empty containers waiting to depart
from the port
(over 100,000 containers as of December 2021) makes matters worse by
occupying
chassis that are needed for unloads, and disrupting the supply of
empty
containers elsewhere around the globe. According to Bloomberg, this
“chokepoint
is one of many bottlenecks in the complex global supply-chain web
that have
contributed to delays, shortages of some goods and faster inflation
worldwide.”
[ii]
These
shipping delays, as well as “additional factors such as increased
demand for
online shopping, the national labor shortage, and increased costs
for freight
and raw materials” have created a shortage of cardboard in the
United States as
well, according to Business Insider
[iii]
. Similarly, increased demand for plastic
during the pandemic has generated shortages for this important
packaging
material as well.
Daabon
has made various efforts to compensate for these supply chain
challenges. For
example, for North America, Daabon’s global logistics team and
Daabon USA are
continually monitoring international shipping routes to ensure that
we are utilizing
the best shipping lanes available at any given time based on transit
times and
logistics costs.
However,
the true key to minimizing the risk of supply chain disruptions
during this
challenging time is planning ahead. Daabon deeply values the
relationships
we’ve cultivated with our customers and partners across the globe,
and
collaborating together to plan ahead for upcoming demand
requirements has never
been more crucial than it is now.
Our
regional offices encourage (and rely upon) strong communication with
our
clients to understand upcoming demand trends, and to plan ahead as
much as
possible. This is tremendously helpful for our production teams in
Colombia—it
allows us to do all we can to ensure that we have the necessary
tools
(including packaging materials and ocean containers) to produce and
ship
product in a timely way despite the global challenges we face.
Planning
ahead is also more important than ever in order to ensure that any
unexpected
delays with materials or logistics will not ultimately affect
production or
distribution deadlines further down the supply chain.
The
international team at Daabon is eager to do all we can to support
those
planning efforts in order to offer high-quality product in a timely
way amidst
these difficult conditions. We appreciate the opportunity to
collaborate with
our partners in order to plan for success while the global community
continues
to navigate these unprecedented supply chain challenges.