TWICE:
Have there been supply
chain problems due to the Japanese
earthquake/tsunami disaster? Do you
expect any later this year? If so, which
categories?
Warren Chaiken, Almo:
Yes, we
are experiencing supply chain problems
due to the Japanese Disaster particularly
with digital camera and Tablet PC
categories. Point and Shoot digital cameras
are mainly built in China, so these
were not affected. However SLR cameras
were solely built in Japan and we
won’t see any product until these factories
are back on line. In the case of
tablet PCs, the memory component was
affected. We’re hopeful to have tablet
product in stock sometime in July.
Bill Stewart, Petra Industries:
We’ve definitely heard rumblings of delays
in the supply chain, but we haven’t
experienced anything that has really affected
our company adversely. We are
in close contact with our manufacturers
about any upcoming shortages or
delays, and as we get any information,
we will do everything we can to provide alternative solutions for our retailers.
Fred Towns, New Age ElectRobics:
The supply chain has definitely
been impacted by the tsunami
in certain areas, like digital still
photography and in other products
that are dependent on components
manufactured in Japan.
We do not anticipate any further
issues in supply chain from Japan,
as manufacturers have been communicating
that the problems are
being resolved and are not reporting
any additional delays.
Tom Roper, SED International:
Cameras and camcorders have
been the most effected so far. We
are hearing about many components
that go into a variety of CE
and IT products that are affected,
but so far our vendors have done
a good job keeping supply issues
to a minimum. We do not expect
major shortages later this year.
Jerry Satoren, DSI Systems:
There have been no supply chain
problems to date as a result of the
Japan disaster. It appears unlikely
at this point that there will be any
impact later this year on the TV
and home audio categories. That
is clearly good news.
Jim Annes, AVAD:
We started
executing on action plans with
our vendors within seven days of
the tragedy, so we were well prepared
for the constraints that the
market has started to see and will
likely see over the next two to three
months.
While there will likely be impact
to [flat panel TVs], Blu-ray players
and other products due to component
factories being damaged, the
flexibility we have built into our purchasing
processes and a stRobg
balance sheet as a North American
distributor enabled us to take
in additional inventory to hedge
against disruptive events such as
the earthquake and Tsunami.
Rob Eby, D&H Distributing:
We have seen some inventory constraints,
but D&H has been very
diligent in providing its resellers
with alternatives for the categories
in question to avoid any interference
of their sales cycles.
D&H was aggressive in buying
inventory ahead of the curve to
make sure it had supplies in key
areas for its customers. So, due to
conscientious planning, no significant
impact on stock materialized.
