Isolated, yes. But KAOS is not alone in experiencing increased demand. All our manufacturers can report general increased demand from all of their customers, and this creates major challenges in the industry.
Increased demand creates a major bottleneck in production and delivery. The subcontractors are not able to deliver enough, and the queues are building up. This forces prices of raw materials to reach new heights.
In addition, manufacturers are struggling to have enough people at work. Before the summer, there were manpower problems due to quarantine and lockdowns. Now there are also manpower problems because the producers are not able to hire people fast enough. This causes massive delays in lead times.
There are also major challenges with shipping from both China and Europe. There are not enough containers and desperate players offer sky-high prices to get first in line. This has meant that the prices of shipping has exploded. In addition, there are long queues and a lot of delays.
We have a very good relationship with all of our suppliers, and we have a close dialogue every week to make sure we can provide you as a customer with updated information about your delivery. After the autumn, we have also engaged additional manufacturers to attract more labor. Ultimately, it is absolutely fantastic to see how manufacturers, who usually fight over their customers and hold their cards close to their chests, are now working together to help both us and each other through the crisis.
We would like to ask in advance for both forgiveness and thank you for your patience if you experience that some (and more and more) goods have a long delivery time or that something is delayed. We are working hard to get in balance again.
We’ll keep you updated continuously, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
Warm regards,
Gineline and Mette