THE TRANSPORT ISSUE
WHAT ARTICLES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ? LET US KNOW : EDITOR @ GEMCELL . COM . AU
FACING UP TO REALITY
GEMCELL SUPPLIERS HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO KEEP PRODUCTS HITTING THE SHELVES FOR YOU TO BUY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS . HERE ’ S THE INSIDE TRACK ON THE HURDLES THEY ’ VE HAD TO OVERCOME AND THE ISSUES THEY ARE STILL TACKLING .
HAMA SHROFF , OCEANIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER , PRYSMIAN
What are the key challenges you ’ ve encountered with regard to your supply chain ? Prysmian , as an Australian manufacturer , relies on both domestic and global connections . A key challenge in the last 12 months for us has been the Covid-19 pandemic , which has significantly affected our global supply chain and in particular , shipping . Prior to the pandemic , Prysmian Australia ’ s global supply chain was underpinned by Aussie-local capabilities combined with the global presence of Prysmian Group spanning across Asia , Europe , the Americas and Asia-Pacific .
What impact has this had ? The Covid-19 pandemic has created ongoing interruptions in manufacturing over the last few months , in spite of best endeavours to mitigate the risk . The sudden closure of Australia ’ s borders and consequential shut down of passenger routes caused not only a cessation in human movement , but it also impacted transport cargo capacity in and out of Australia . For us , this meant a delay in time to move goods in and out of the country by air and sea freight . The limited availability of containers has been challenging , as well as vessels and port congestion . The reliability of shipping is at record low levels , making it very difficult to plan for raw materials like copper rod , PVC resin and many others .
What have you had to do to mitigate those issues ? To combat these supply-chain issues as a result of Covid-19 , we have restructured our flows and networks to build resilience and seek to avoid over dependence on a particular country / region . We have increased our levels of safety stock to mitigate the risks . However , this has meant a financial premium that needed to be paid to ensure a continuity of supply , impacting our financial net working capital . We are putting in more resources just to track shipments on a daily basis on top of increasing our buffer stocks of strategic materials .
How has this affected what you ’ re doing moving forward ? Unfortunately , we do not see any improvement in the short to medium term and will continue monitoring the ongoing situation closely . We understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to become flexible and adaptive in our response to the external environment .
MICHELLE FAULKNER , CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BUSINESS PARTNER , SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
What are the key challenges you ’ ve encountered with regard to your supply chain ? The world has changed dramatically since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic , and with it has come many challenges . Across Australia , we have navigated constrained labour availability , global shortages of raw materials and unreliable transportation . These have all impacted and put great pressure on supply chain and suppliers .
What impact has this had ? While challenging , the supply chain crisis has provided us with a range of unique opportunities that not only brought our teams together , but also allowed us to future proof our workforce . Collaboration between our departments has remained at an all-time high , as teams continue to work together to ensure continuity of supply for our customers .
This ever-changing environment has made our workforce more agile , with digital solutions becoming a core part of our operations as we pivot towards remote and hybrid working models .
What have you had to do to mitigate those issues ? We recognised early on that the pandemic was going to create major disruptions to entire global and national supply chains . Our job was to minimise this impact and create the right solutions for our vendors , right down to our customers .
Working on how to secure supply of the products that were most critical to our customers was our main priority . Throughout this time , we have worked – and continue to work – incredibly closely with our sales teams , as well as businesses to create detailed forecasts for projects on the horizon , while also ensuring visibility of alternate options for short-term constraints .
How has this affected what you ’ re doing moving forward ? Customer focus is at the core of everything we do . The importance of remaining true to this core value has only become heightened throughout the duration of the pandemic .
We are continuing to ensure we are ready for growth and driving reliability as we move into the new normal . Our sustainability efforts are globally acknowledged , with the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index recognising the company as the world ’ s most sustainable corporation in 2021 . We are now looking to take this a step further , aspiring to be part of one of the most sustainable supply chains in the world . n
14 GEMCELL . COM . AU APR – MAY 2022