Interrupted
Supply Chains,
Three large foodservice equipment distributors discuss the current supply chain crisis, how their companies are managing through it, and whether they’re seeing any light at the end of the tunnel yet.
What started as long stretches of empty grocery store shelves and a dearth of essential supplies in 2020 has since become a full-blown supply chain disruption that’s rippled across nearly every corner of the business world. Coming off of a difficult year, manufacturers working to spin their operations back up quickly faced some new forces of change: inventory levels were low, a labor shortage was escalating and supply chains worldwide were being interrupted by ocean container shortages, port congestion and events like the Ever Given’s blockage of the Suez Canal.
Several high-profile cybersecurity breaches would soon ensue, further complicating manufacturers’ and distributors’ efforts to meet the needs of their end customers. For foodservice equipment dealers, the shortages couldn’t have come at a
10 FEDA News & Views
worse time. While many of their customers were shut down or limited during the pandemic, the nation was beginning to reopen and restaurants, bars, hotels and other operators suddenly found themselves in need of new equipment, fixtures, supplies and services to help them get back to business.
And while a short supply of semiconductor chips, lumber, gas and chicken wings dominated the news headlines, raw materials such as steel, metal, plastic and resin (to name just a few) have all been difficult to source this year. “We’ve seen a very challenging supply chain environment for the last year-and- a-half,” says Gene Clark, CEO of Clark Associates. “The supply- demand balance is pretty far out of
By Bridget McCrea Contributing Writer
whack at both ends of the spectrum. First, there was more supply than demand (in 2020) and now it’s the exact opposite.”
MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS
Supply chain logistics are being spread pretty thin right now across many industries and the foodservice equipment sector has been feeling the brunt of these impacts. As they make the transition from a slow period to a faster pace, dealers are enjoy- ing the sales recovery and scram- bling to keep up with the greater demand smack in the middle of a supply chain crisis. “If you’re asking whether our customers’ expectations are being met right now, so far the answer is ‘yes,’” says Clark, when asked how his company is gearing up to meet the new levels of demand.
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