Easing Supply Chain Issues Decrease Delivery Times
SUMMARY:
One of the most visible consequences of shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been delays in shipping nearly all types of materials. Even as the world largely moved on from health specific concerns, a lack of materials due to factory shutdowns during the pandemic itself continued to create weeks or months of delays in building and shipping items in a huge range of industries. Today, however, Spectra, a print and fulfillment company based in South Carolina, is pleased to report that many of the materials it uses on a daily basis are improving in their delivery timeframes, allowing the company to provide its clients with a more prompt service.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Spectra, a fulfillment and print services provider headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, was among the companies across the United States and the world that struggled with supply chain delays following the COVID-19 global pandemic. The company prints direct mail pieces, marketing materials, books on demand, and other items in its print facility, giving clients a fully integrated fulfillment chain under one roof. As paper and other print supplies were in short supply throughout the past months, Spectra was forced to employ creativity to complete client orders within the necessary timeframes, often using alternate paper types when specified varieties were not available.
As production has ramped back up to pre-COVID levels, however, supply is slowly increasing and is beginning to somewhat relieve the strained availability and delivery times for some materials. While labor shortages and transport difficulties still create some challenges in getting materials to print facilities like Spectra’s, the expert leadership at Spectra is using their decades of industry knowledge and relationships within the field to meet these challenges and complete client projects successfully.
In addition to the print department at Spectra, the supply chain issues have also impacted the fulfillment department. Many of the clients that make use of Spectra’s third-party fulfillment service have experienced difficulty in getting stock to the fulfillment center so that Spectra can inventory, kit, package, and distribute it to their end users. While these issues are also easing, it is still important for clients to closely monitor lead times and understand when potential delays necessitate reordering earlier than in normal conditions.
Spectra’s advanced inventory system is an extremely valuable asset for fulfillment clients, particularly when unpredictable factors make it harder to keep inventory in stock in the ideal quantities to meet order demand. As Spectra’s inventory software gathers metrics on past orders and predicts future demand, the client’s overall fulfillment activity becomes as efficient as possible. By working with an expert third-party fulfillment service such as Spectra, organizations place themselves in the best position possible to combat problems such as the ones unexpectedly created by the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns around the world.
Spectra operates print and fulfillment centers in the Columbia and Charleston, SC regions, placing them in a very strategic location for service up and down the East Coast. Organization managers who are interested in finding out more about either Spectra’s print services or end-to-end fulfillment services can reach an expert by way of the company’s website at www.spectraintegration.com.
