Supply chain issues

searcher profile

August 24, 2022

by a searcher from Pennsylvania State University in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Hi everyone, I'm working on a very interesting deal that is a very good fit for my search. It checks nearly all the boxes and diligence has gone great with one exception. All along I have been trying to wrap my head around supply chain issues with a key supplier. Customers need their product desperately and the lead times are getting key accounts frustrated. This is affecting our competition as well. The business did not have this issue before the pandemic and they offered up a meeting with their supplier to discuss the situation. I'm hoping they tell me that over time this situation will remedy itself.

We are getting closer to closing, but this is an unknown I am going to have to live with. I'm curious if any other searchers out there are dealing with this supply chain issue and if there are any creative ways to mitigate this risk.

Thanks,
Shawn

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Western Illinois University in St. Louis, MO, USA
In my day job, I'm seeing lead times get better in some areas and remain an issue in others. When i meet with suppliers i always ask if its labor, raw material or both. Sometimes though, the wheels are coming off their operation. I've had suppliers lose key ppl and haven't recovered operationally. I've spent a lot of time finding new suppliers and functional equivalents.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Southern California in 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA
Rule of thumb - always have a primary, secondary and tertiary supplier. In general price of containers/shipping is dropping like crazy but warehouses are chock full of freight. Some companies pre-buy allotments but you can get burnt if you have too much inventory. Happy to chat all things shipping as I work for the largest shipper in the world.
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