Supply Chain Disruptions Cause Delays for Many Businesses, But Not All

Empty shelves and lengthy shipping delays continue to wreak havoc on the global economy. For businesses, supply chain disruptions all too often mean delaying critical technology purchases or limping by on old equipment. As a result, organizations need to think creatively and explore the options at hand. And for eMazzanti customers, help may be just a phone call away.

Perfect Storm Leads to Supply Chain Disruptions

No single event resulted in today’s situation. Even before 2020 turned the world upside down, digital transformation sparked an increasing demand for technology. When the corporate world switched to remote work almost overnight, that transformation switched into high gear.

Add in the Suez Canal fiasco, a few natural disasters, the lack of workers to transport goods and the repurposing of factory lines and shipping containers. Combined, these seemingly unconnected events have resulted in critical shortages. Key among those shortages has been the lack of sufficient supplies of semiconductors.

Semiconductors, or chips, form key parts of essentially anything electronic, from cars to computer equipment, appliances to phones. Thus, the chip shortage affects nearly every business. In fact, a report last April from Goldman Sachs references 169 industries affected.

For instance, consider retailers, with their dependance on point-of-sale machines to process purchases. Likewise, the food service industry experiences delays in equipment like refrigerators, in addition to shortages of other necessary supplies. And when businesses can find the equipment they need, they often find themselves paying exorbitant prices.

Small Businesses Feel the Pinch of Supply Chain Disruptions

With less options at their fingertips than larger enterprises, small businesses feel the hit particularly hard. According to Forbes, fully one third of small businesses have felt a significant impact of the supply chain disruptions. Another roughly thirty percent have felt a moderate impact. And over half say the problems are worsening.

Industry experts and impacted businesses expect that the shortages, delays and price hikes will continue for several more months. In many cases, businesses will have to make adjustments well into 2022. And, using the past 18 months as a lesson, proactive organizations will adjust their operations moving forward.

Pursue Options

While the supply chain issues continue, businesses need to adjust to the current situation while also planning ahead. Start by ordering early and exercising patience where possible. For instance, if you know you will need computer equipment six months from now, order it now.

At the same time, work closely with your suppliers. If you have a longstanding partnership with a supplier, providing clarity on your real needs will help them better allocate their supplies.

Finally, if shortages make purchasing a needed server or networking equipment unlikely, consider moving some workloads to the cloud. Cloud migration may provide the flexibility you need, without a significant purchase of additional hardware.

Proactive Suppliers Take Care of Customers

Car giant Toyota experienced devastating supply chain disruptions after the 2011 tsunami. Through the experience, the automaker learned to carefully monitor its supply chain and build up inventories of critical items. Consequently, during the global chip crisis, Toyota has managed to maintain much greater levels of production than its competitors.

Likewise, over the past twenty years of supporting customers through crises big and small, eMazzanti’s business IT experts have taken a proactive stance. With a strong balance sheet, they have stockpiled in-demand hardware to provide excellent service for customers. With an inventory of printing supplies, laptops, desktop computers and more, they can provide same-day delivery to many clients.

For more information and availability, eMazzanti customers should contact eMazzanti sales or customer support personnel.

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