Holy Shipping! Delays and Dismay

Know Where You Stand

Ready to talk about all that freight backed up in ports around the world? Or the consumer displeasure that’s stacked up right alongside it? It’s a mess.

Cam and Tyler take on the topic with their trademark humor intact, breaking down this global phenomenon into flooring industry specifics. They also propose options to help retailers mitigate inventory shortages and restore customer confidence.

It’s no secret that the two forces stressing supply chains are the ongoing pandemic and expedited customer expectations. The former is a once-in-a-generation anomaly; the latter, a calculated modification of consumer behavior by online shopping behemoths like Wayfair and, of course, Amazon. Couple those factors with labor market shortages, and you’ve got a recipe for global disruption.

“I think consumers' expectations over the years have swayed to where they expect that same type of service and delivery when they go to buy flooring,” observes Cam. The pandemic kept a lot of folks at home. As a result, they invested more in their surroundings. But it also meant fewer people remained physically on the job to make or move products. You don’t need a degree in logistics to realize that this cycle would eventually lead to restocking issues.

There’s no one solution to the backlog or delivery delays, but Tyler advises retailers to concentrate on what they have right now: their stock on hand and the Primco sales tools at their disposal––like displays and NextGen platform. When consumer patience is stretched thin, quick access to meaningful inventory detail via NextGen can close a sale. He’s also keen on using this time to assess retail sales environments. “Right now is a great time to pull, to refresh, to move out the displays you don't want and put in the ones you do want.” Especially if those cards sway buyers toward easily accessible product.

Sure, stock drives sales, but salespeople build relationships that translate into repeat business. As an owner, “if you’re not involving your staff in helping make selections of colors and things like that, you may make the wrong decisions,” Cam says about the products you opt to keep on hand in the future. “If they’re involved in the process, I think they’ll own it more; they’ll move the inventory for you as well.”

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

KWYS - Innovating to Thrive: In and Beyond COVID

KWYS - Leading the Pack: Next Gen Technology and Future Focus with guest Angela Baldwin

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Know Where You Stand is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

To learn more about topics we discuss, visit https://www.primco.ca/ or contact your local sales rep.

We know where we stand, so you know where you stand.