Page 29 - HW Oct 2022

inventory locally.
“Our MD has allowed us to carry a little bit more stock on
hand than we would have 12 months ago,” says Paul O’Reilly for example.
Seeking to provide continuity of supply, Darren Newland and Selleys NZ have also increased safety stock levels “more than we would normally do in a perfect world” and Darren is equally sanguine about facing the fact this choice “comes at a cost.”
Is the worst of this situation over? “We’re certainly not out of the woods yet,” he says.
Soudal Chief Operating Officer Melanie Reid says that while raw material and manufacturing challenges are “no longer an issue” for Soudal, agrees that shipping challenges remain and although shipping costs are starting to fall,
Melanie remains unsure if these will ever return to “normal” pre-Covid levels.
Clearly seeing more stability around raw materials and manufacturing than others, Melanie Reid and Soudal are “starting to move back towards pre-Covid safety stock levels – but cautiously, given continued shipping challenges.”
In contrast and fully expecting more shipping delays and uncertainty, at Bostik, Paul O’Reilly is looking at “more of the same, certainly for the first half of next year.”
Higher international and local freight costs are also expected, says Paul who, like other suppliers importing raw materials
or products, is hesitant to talk about how much of these increasingly spontaneous cost hikes from overseas materials suppliers may or may not be passed on to retailers and merchants.
glues, silicones & sealants
MORE AT www.facebook.com/nzhardwarejournal
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 | NZHJ 27