Fair News

As the world continues to manage various challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues have become a very notable concern on a global scale.

In fact, every aspect of most international supply chains has been affected—everything from limited vessel space for ocean cargo to shortages of important packaging materials such as plastic and cardboard. This has generated an environment in which procurement and logistics are more complicated than ever.

In North America, perhaps the most newsworthy example of the issues affecting imports into the United States is the Port of Los Angeles, California. According to CNN, “a record-setting 10.7 million 20-foot containers passed through the Port of Los Angeles in 2021.” [i] At the same time, labor and equipment shortages at the port have notably extended transit times for cargo ships destined for L.A., as well as port discharge times. The number of empty containers waiting to depart from the port (over 100,000 containers as of December 2021) makes matters worse by occupying chassis that are needed for unloads, and disrupting the supply of empty containers elsewhere around the globe. According to Bloomberg, this “chokepoint is one of many bottlenecks in the complex global supply-chain web that have contributed to delays, shortages of some goods and faster inflation worldwide.” [ii]

These shipping delays, as well as “additional factors such as increased demand for online shopping, the national labor shortage, and increased costs for freight and raw materials” have created a shortage of cardboard in the United States as well, according to Business Insider [iii] .   Similarly, increased demand for plastic during the pandemic has generated shortages for this important packaging material as well.

Daabon has made various efforts to compensate for these supply chain challenges. For example, for North America, Daabon’s global logistics team and Daabon USA are continually monitoring international shipping routes to ensure that we are utilizing the best shipping lanes available at any given time based on transit times and logistics costs.

However, the true key to minimizing the risk of supply chain disruptions during this challenging time is planning ahead. Daabon deeply values the relationships we’ve cultivated with our customers and partners across the globe, and collaborating together to plan ahead for upcoming demand requirements has never been more crucial than it is now.

Our regional offices encourage (and rely upon) strong communication with our clients to understand upcoming demand trends, and to plan ahead as much as possible. This is tremendously helpful for our production teams in Colombia—it allows us to do all we can to ensure that we have the necessary tools (including packaging materials and ocean containers) to produce and ship product in a timely way despite the global challenges we face.

Planning ahead is also more important than ever in order to ensure that any unexpected delays with materials or logistics will not ultimately affect production or distribution deadlines further down the supply chain.

The international team at Daabon is eager to do all we can to support those planning efforts in order to offer high-quality product in a timely way amidst these difficult conditions. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with our partners in order to plan for success while the global community continues to navigate these unprecedented supply chain challenges.