“ How quickly does it have to get to the customer ?” Stiers asks . “ How fragile is it , meaning does it have to be kept at a certain temperature or other conditions ? Especially for new molecules the question of transportation is an essential part of the decision of where to produce it and scale it up . How can it be shipped ?”
Supply chain issues will no doubt continue , she adds . One key component is having solid relationships with logistic providers . At the same time , the great exodus of retirements and people looking for greener pastures has affected whatever might be called the logistics ‘ department ’ of many companies .
“ In smaller custom manufacturing organisations , one or two people handle the supply chain function . The project people are focused on the molecule and the customers . It is more critical than ever to have someone who only thinks about and makes the logistics happen , someone who knows the carriers , holds the relationships and just knows the ways to get things to places when they have to be there .”
Walters – Evonik is pushing its tollers to be more strategic about logistics
Killian – No formula for what chemistry to pursue finished formulations . “ I don ’ t want to pay to ship water ,” says Walters . “ If something takes seven steps to the final formulation and the last step is dilution , the preference is to have that done as close to the point of sale as possible . The same goes for distillation or blending .”
Final countdown
For all chemical manufacturers , but particularly for custom manufacture and as the campaign progresses to commercial stages , the driving question is ‘ Where does the molecule need to be in its final format ?’, according to Cristi L . Stiers . She advises venture capital , private equity and start-ups , and is strategic executive advisor at SafeRock
Contacts are crucial
That was always as much art as science . It is not yet a lost art , says Stiers , but “ overall it has gotten harder for every manufacturer to ship everything , so the carriers and logistics companies prefer to move easier-to-handle materials . Even when I was with large companies like Dow and FMC , both companies would have challenges to move some commodities , never mind specialty chemicals .”
That is why downsizing and the Great Resignation – the name given to the large number of ongoing retirements in the industry - have hit the supply chain so hard . “ Solid relationships are the key ,” Stiers stresses . “ Contacts are essential . A phone call to someone on a first-name basis can be the difference between a shipment getting on the truck or ship , or not . Anticipation , and having and knowing alternatives are important .”
22 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981