Where’s my Stuff?
Try these 6 tricks to navigate supply chain and current employee shortages.
In the United States, 4.1 million people quit their jobs in October 2021. In the private sector, fewer people left their jobs in October than in August and September, which could mean good news for worldwide supply chain slowdowns. However, in the public sector, quit rates continue their five-month upward trend, indicating continued instability.
More than 21% of these workers—nearly a million—hail from the trade, transportation, and utility industries. Over 900,000 people in industries like trucking, rail cargo, air travel, retail, agriculture, mining, power, gas, water, manufacturing, and publishing left their jobs last month.
Our industry—print, and publishing—is getting hit hard. There are lumber shortages, increased cost of pulp, insufficiency in the labor force, and impaired logistics that are keeping even basic supplies on backorder. All commercial printers are hiring.
These problems are unlikely to be resolved until well into 2022.
Yet, we know how crucial your collateral is. From scheduled publications to sales tools, from catalogs to direct mail, every piece you invest in is designed to create revenue.
Revenue is lost if the piece or campaign doesn’t come out on time.
Here’s how Journal Graphics can help you navigate delays and keep the momentum in your marketing.
It starts as an inside job.
We are recruiting the most experienced and competent professionals available to keep our presses running 24 hours a day. We offer a competitive salary and benefits well beyond standard medical and dental.
Why does this matter to you, our customer?
When we hire the best, train them to our standards and retain them over the long haul, we provide you with a consistent, high-quality, error-free product. This enables Journal Graphics to stay on schedule and within budget.
We put you at the front of the pack.
If we are experiencing hiring and supply chain challenges, we assume you are too. 2022 is here. We will work as consultants to help you plan your year. Let’s sit down and prioritize your publications and focus on your goals in the months ahead. We are happy to commit future resources to loyal customers. Planning in advance (at least 12 weeks), allows Journal Graphics to secure the paper, inks, and finishes you want when you need them. A great relationship is the tide that floats all boats.
We have friends up the chain.
For more than 80 years, we have been a premier commercial printer in the Pacific Northwest. That means we have cultivated strong relationships at all points in the supply chain. As we work with you to get your priorities on the calendar, we stay in front of our suppliers and vendors to ensure prompt delivery when supplies come in. We can also special-order quality substitutions and create workarounds to ensure the quality you expect from Journal Graphics is achieved.
Here’s what you can do to mitigate supply and employee shortages.
Get ahead of deadlines.
Make this year all about the calendar. If you send out fall catalogs in June, have them ready to go on the press in March. Decide in August if you’ll be sending out season’s greetings and gifts. Check with us - we can give you the skinny on lead time and supply availability. Plan to have your scheduled publications done weeks ahead of time. Create evergreen content and talk to sponsors early. Give them the same advice we’re giving you.
If your company holds regular fall galas, end-of-year fundraisers, or spring auctions—or any annual/seasonal promotion—plan ahead and get that collateral ordered.
Go local.
Use vendors and suppliers with local delivery services. If your project or product only travels a few miles, it will get there a lot faster if it’s not being manufactured or printed hundreds of miles away. If you are shipping products and have outsourced delivery in the past, try building a supply chain department, however small, in-house. Short-distance deliveries can add days of needed cushion to a project.
Know—and keep—your customers.
Loyal, long-term clients make all the difference during a challenging period in business. Small businesses routinely get stuck in the I’ll-pay-when-I-get-paid loop. If your clients and customers prioritize your relationship, count your lucky stars. Return the favor by keeping up communication in good times so that when challenges arise, you have a connection to fall back on. No client wants to pick up a cold call out of the blue delivering bad news.
The bottom line, it will level out. We just don’t know when. Until then, we work together to create impressive projects that increase your revenue and visibility. Just like we always have.
Journal Graphics creates high-quality print products to ensure your creative messaging and overall strategy are collectively focused to help you grow your business in target markets. We can design and execute a mailing campaign that complements and capitalizes on your brand’s e-commerce efforts.
Call or click today to tap into the most effective marketing tools for your brand.