VBH managing director, Richard Gyde, provides an insight into some of the work that goes on behind the scenes at the company to ensure customers have a smooth ride.

A major aspect of any supplier’s service offering to its customers is that of smoothing out any bumps in the road before those bumps have a negative effect on a customer’s service experience.

There is so much potential in any supply chain for things to go wrong, particularly in times of volatility, but VBH works hard to function as a buffer between the customer and the wider chain. It is a major reason why we gain, and retain, so much business in a market full of stiff competition.

Our smoothing actions are based on a number of key factors, including accurate forecasting, constant dialogue with customers and factories, using reliable production lines, and continuous close monitoring of less predictable areas such as shipping, for example.

We are pro-active in by-passing any looming issues and this is reflected in our monthly OTIF figure, which is consistently above 99%.

VBH knows the value of vigilance. Our logistics and commercial teams are constantly monitoring world events and trends in order that we can react quickly and effectively if or when the need arises.

We ensure we have healthy stock levels, but an unexpected event anywhere in the world, seemingly unrelated to our industry, can put pressure on those stocks very quickly.

Even when faced with such extraordinary events, VBH goes all-out to shield our customers from the negative effects.

Take the recent situation with rare earths as an example. In response to the USA’s new tariffs on Chinese imports into the US in 2025, the Chinese government has imposed restrictions on the export of rare-earth elements (REE), also known as rare-earth metals. The result is that companies from any country, not just the US, who source products containing REE from China now require a special export licence to allow the goods to leave the country.

Rare-earth metals are a group of 17 elements that are used in many areas of modern technology. Think electric vehicles, hard drives, smart phones, speakers, screens, medical and military uses, and also the humble magnet!

This is where the restrictions hit our industry, as most bi-fold doors feature magnetic catches to hold the leaves together when stacked open.

VBH supplies magnetic catches as part of our popular GreenteQ Clearspan bi-fold hardware range, and ours contain more than the minimum amount of ‘rare earth’ to qualify for export without a license.

To compound the issue and the additional cost, these licences are not a ‘one and done’ type. A separate licence is required every time we ship our magnetic catches from China to the UK, with the effect that delivery times are drastically extended whilst the licence application slowly proceeds through the relevant Chinese governmental department for approval.

As reported on the BBC, China has a ‘near monopoly on extracting rare earths, as well as on refining them’ so VBH is unable to re-source elsewhere.

In order to maintain supply of magnetic catches to our customers, VBH has now gained the relevant licences to order in bulk volumes. This has resulted in a heavy investment in stock, as we are now ordering several months’ worth of stock in a single delivery.

If our logistics team identifies potential shortages, we will preserve the supply chain by arranging an air freight delivery at our cost.

VBH has kept disruption to our outbound supply to an absolute minimum. Our customers remain shielded from the unforeseen fall-out from an economic spat between two global powerhouses that caused severe restrictions on rare earth availability.

A magnetic catch may be worth just a few pounds, but issues with availability would have caused delays in the supply and installation of thousands of high-value aluminium bi-fold doors, and/or subsequent delays in payment for our customers.

We take our role in the global supply chain seriously, and always do our utmost to ensure that VBH customers can expect a constant flow of product with no bumps along the way, regardless of world events.

If you would like a smooth hardware experience, we would be delighted to hear from you.