Business at level 4 is certainly a challenge but despite this we’re thankful that we’re able to continue to operate and support essential services with the products they need. We thought we would take a moment to outline one of the key challenges we’re facing at moment so that our customers can better plan and set expectation with their customers. We are referring to the challenge of local freight delivery.
The problem:
We’re hearing a lot of complaints about deliveries taking a long time to arrive or taking a long time to pick up return orders.
What’s causing this?
Our freight partners are telling us the operating environment is incredibly difficult at the moment. In Auckland, many companies are not operating, or operating with a skeleton staff or limited hours. If the courier turns up and the place looks closed they drive on. Sometimes, the products are delivered to our customers but may take longer to be brought into stock as they too are operating with less people.
For freight travelling to the South Island, the issue now is that the ferry Kaiarahi has experienced problems with her gearbox. This means she will be out of action for the next 3 weeks and this will lead to
- Extended transit times and delays to all Inter-Island freight
- Reduced South Island road/rail capacity by 80%
- Limited DG sailing slots with reduced sailings
What to do?
It’s incredibly frustrating waiting for goods you’ve ordered. To take a bit of control we’d suggest you do some, or all, of the following:
- Make sure it obvious that you’re open so the courier drivers can see that they can deliver.
- Make sure your website clearly states that you’re open and if operating with limited times or staff – note what the limitations are.
- If you have special delivery instructions for the courier, please let us know so we can pass these on (i.e. only accepting deliveries from 10am to 2pm)
- Advise your customers of the issues above and let them know that the whole country is experiencing delays so they can adjust their expectations.
- Hold stock of products you sell frequently. Just in time delivery is great for cash flow but only works when everything is running smoothly, holding stock is the natural response to uncertainty in the supply chain.
- Finally, be kind! We understand that you may be annoyed that your order hasn’t arrived when you expected it to, but being grumpy with our staff doesn’t help. Life can feel pretty strained for everyone at the moment, so a little understanding and patience goes a long way. Thankfully, this appears to be the approach most are taking.
Please be assured we will continue to keep you updated and if you have any questions please feel free to contact the team at ph7 International on 0800 323 223, email enquiries@ph7.co.nz
