Eggs and baskets

Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell wonders if relationships up and down the supply chain have changed for good.

If you are busy trying to keep up with the current levels of demand, do you stop looking for opportunities? It was a question that occurred to me this week, as I considered the number of recent conversations I’ve had with companies, which don’t seem to have lost their appetite for innovation even though their hands are full.

This is reflected in several of this week’s newsletter stories. I’ve had it said to me that the FIT Show could suffer as companies concentrate on current workloads rather than visit an industry exhibition. However, the evidence suggests otherwise: businesses are queuing up to exhibit for the first time this year, and pre-reg numbers are tracking above those recorded in the same period leading up to the last event.

And it makes sense. If supply chains are struggling to meet demand, then all affected businesses are going to look at ways of easing the pressure. This doesn’t mean severing ties with trusted suppliers, but spreading the load could be an option. This is what Deborah Hendry from Kolorseal told me. Her argument was that some fabricators were waiting longer than anticipated for foiled profile because their suppliers were concentrating on core product, whereas she was geared up to offer a painting service that could be turned round in just five days, giving fabricators greater control over stock management.

Is this the start of a new trend? Will the latest bottlenecks in supply encourage businesses to spread the risk across several suppliers? Have we witnessed the death knell of the one-stop shop? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.