Thursday, June 23, 2022

Supply-chain update

Recently, I asked my contact at Lehman's the following: "When you have a moment, I'd love to hear your take on supply-chain issues and what kinds of products are in short supply."

Glenda Lehman Ervin is the Director of Marketing for Lehman's, and she wrote the following:

"I talked to merchandising and they said vendors are ramping up production and demand is softening slightly, so supply chain issues are still there but are loosening up. The biggest issue we have is with the Pioneer Princess wood cook stoves – we are still taking (and getting) orders, but we are at least a year out in filling those orders."

"We have a new canning lid supplier (Superb – made locally just a few miles from the store), which is helping with the canning lid back orders. Customers tell us they really like the lids, which are thicker and work well for high pressure canning."

"Lodge has made investments into production and plans to add back the SKUs that were discontinued (so they could focus on the most popular SKUs during the height of big demand). We do see spikes in back orders for seasonal items (for example, outdoor games and seeds when summer hit) but for the most part, we are keeping up."

So there you go, folks. The latest from a large retailer whose products are in high demand.

13 comments:

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    1. Had to look it up too, this is from wikipedia.

      In inventory management, a stock keeping unit is a distinct type of item for sale, purchased, or tracked in inventory, such as a product or service, and all attributes associated with the item type that distinguish it from other item types. For a product, these attributes can include manufacturer, description, material, size, color, packaging, and warranty terms. When a business takes inventory of its stock, it counts the quantity it has of each SKU.

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    2. If helpful, the bar code and number you see on products is how the SKU is represented on products. In grocery stores for example, I sometimes check the SKU on the item I am purchasing with the label and code underneath it to verify that it is the right product and right size, etc.

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  2. Well, fossil fuels are supposed to be cut by 74 percent by 2030 and eliminated by 2034. Google it like I just did. So supply chain issues can't get better unless transporting stuff can get way better with whatever is supposed to take the place of big trucks. I can think of a plethora of problems.
    I also think electric vehicles best serve city folk, not people way out in the boonies.

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    1. Hummm...I heard 80% of our grid electricity is fueled by use of fossil fuels....coal, natural gas etc. How long to re-construct a grid which runs on something else (when it is invented)? Where do we plug in the cheap electric cars (when they are invented)? So, no heat or refrigeration or hair dryers either? None of this meets any "reasonable man" test. Supply chain is only one of the indicators of trouble.

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    2. there won't be any roads for electric cars to travel on if oil is no longer refined, because roads are made from petroleum products.
      and electric needs to be produced by something in order to he stored in batteries.
      this push or plan for no emissions is going to kill billions and the rest will live in abject poverty.

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  3. I like the fact that they have developed a new supplier of canning lids.

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  4. I’m hoping they can start getting products. I get several emails a day from Lehmans but I have had products on order for months and it is beginning to be annoying to have them constantly pushing products they don’t seem to be able to deliver. I don’t mean to be grumpy about it it, and I know they are doing the best they can, it’s just frustrating.

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  5. About a week ago, Biden was on TV and promised a young girl he was getting rid of fossil fuels. He's so daffy, but I don't see supply chain issues going away. I think the bigger question is "when" and "what" is going away.
    A lot of companies are starting to promise dates for when they will no longer use plastic. If that doesn't just run the gamut of things we need and use I don't know what does . Everything from syringes for meds to plastic buckets for feeding our critters. Plastic disposables for eating fell off my grocery list long ago.

    Another thing is not just what is considered bad and needs cancelling, what about things considered good that we need like cotton? It's a heavy feeder, needs lots of fertilizer, and fertilizer has gone way u p. Better buy sheets for the future soon ! Cotton will be in competition with food in a bigger way for getting planted.
    I think if you find something you need, better grab it.

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    1. A $20 roll of 5 mil plastic two years ago is twice that at the big box stores now. Unless you are fixing up a greenhouse out of glass or polycarbonate, better stock up on covering material or make a new plan.
      Maybe we should be thinking about building conservatories onto our houses instead of greenhouses!

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    2. I got things needed to start hydroponics, the Kratky style with no pump. Soon as we get the harvest in, the root cellar dirt put back on top of it some came off with the goats playing on top of it but we did get rid of the goats 3 years ago and it is still not returned, we need to make steps so it doesn't slide off again), canning done, then I will get that up and running. We lost both our hoops houses in last winters 2 foot snow storm. The storm didn't take them out, the sun afterwards that made them heavier did. So of course this happened after I had started the tomato, eggplant and pepper plants. Even though we had a very wet cold spring, they are looking good, if they bear fruit before the first frost comes.

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