Page 6 - HW June-July 2021

editorial
INTRODUCING
THE SMARTEST BLADE HOLDING SYSTEM.
NZ Hardware Journal is published 11 times per year (monthly except for January)
Group editor Steve Bohling INTRODUCING
steveb@mpm.nz
THE SMARTEST BLADE HOLDING SYSTEM.
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Account manager Susan Kennedy susank@mpm.nz
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Event manager Nic McCord awards@mpm.nz
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Subscription enquiries
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Contributors to this issue
Alan Johnston, Andy Kerr
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Are supply chain issues out of (our) control??
OK LET’S ADDRESS the elephant in the room – this issue of NZ Hardware Journal is a combined June-July issue.
This is sadly due to circumstances beyond our control but be assured that normal service will be resumed with the next magazine.
Normal service in our chosen industry however may not resume for quite some time...
I am hearing that shipping schedule reliability has plunged to a historic low of 6% from more than 80% pre-COVID-19.
That Home Depot, aiming to be first up, best dressed, has been busy placing forward orders out to 2024.
That Home Depot and Wal-Mart even booked their own container ships, for their own peace of mind.
And that local importers are already talking of 12-month delays in product that was due to arrive in time for Christmas 2021.
THIS ISN’T A NO-FAULT SITUATION
No-nonsense retail guru, Paula Rosenblum, one of the outspoken but eminent minds at RSR Research, has this to say: “The continued brittleness of our [US] supply chain continues to boggle the mind...”
It also beggars belief, she says, “just how little retailers and their suppliers know about the duration or nature of supply chain disruptions.
“They have no real ability to respond or react. This is both a problem of technology and of complacency on the part of shippers.
“The reality is Home Depot shouldn’t have to contract its own ships.”
“Candidly speaking, this problem can and should be fixed by the players involved,” (i.e. the shipping industry) concludes Paul Rosenblum.
Fair comment.
MOVING ON TO THE POSITIVE
Moving right along, who can
you nominate for the 2021 Hardware Awards and how? If you work alongside a high achieving individual, here’s how to gain them recognition...
Merchants & DIY
retailers: Recognise your high achievers by nominating them into the Trade Account Manager, Young Retailer or Retailer of the Year categories.
Suppliers: Nominate one of your own into the Supplier Account Manager of the Year category. You can also nominate a high achieving customer as Trade Account Manager, Young Retailer or Retailer of the Year!
Everyone: Anyone can nominate a high achieving DIY store or building supplies outlet into the Retail and Trade Store of the
Year categories. Email awards@mpm. nz with the store’s name and we’ll take it from there!
Don’t panic but equally don’t delay – nominations close 30 July 2021.
Go here: www.hardwarejournal.co.nz/ awards/awards-2021/
Steve Bohling, editor steveb@mpm.nz
4 NZHJ | JUNE/JULY 2021
MORE AT www.hardwarejournal.co.nz