A Word With Wyatt #1: Freight
I have been in the office furniture business for over 25 years. I have seen highs and lows, trends come and go, I thought I had seen it all. Well, I hadn’t lived through a pandemic and had no idea the challenges that it would bring to our industry. One of the largest problems we have encountered in the last year is in shipping. We have manufacturers across North America that depend on third party freight carriers to bring us the furniture we design, specify and order for our clients. These carriers are having a tough time. A significant number of drivers left or altered their trip lengths at the start of covid. The long-haul drivers are in high demand and all the carriers we have worked with are in dire need of additional help. Not just drivers but all logistic support staff. That need is overworking the drivers and other employees that continue to work, is bringing in drivers that have less experience or just creating an overall void. As a result, transit time has increased significantly. Damages have increased. Missing or split shipments have increased. So on top of increasing fuel prices, material costs and increased lead times in manufacturing we are experiencing a whole new set of problems once our orders finally do ship.
We have seen shipments ready to be picked up, scheduled to be picked up, and then sit for multiple days because the carrier cannot get to it. We have had shipments arrive at our local distribution facilities only to sit for days because there are no workers at the facility to unload and reload the trailers. No drivers to bring it. We have sent our own drivers to pick up on multiple occasions and often can not even pull that off because of short staffing. We arrive and are turned away because no staff to assist us. Once our furniture arrives it is far more common to have missing or damaged products then not.
A big thank you to our clients who have stuck with us over this tough stretch. Your understanding and loyalty is acknowledged and appreciated. We, our manufacturers, and the freight carriers all know we must do better. We are working hard for you to get you the service and quality you deserve!
