In this episode I’m going to focus on the the Supply Chain Delays and Cost Increases of COVID-19. For most retailers this is a 90day+ issue; the goods on offer made or sourced in China between now and spring at retail are mostly already on the water or in warehouses domestically. Continued delays however mean bottlenecks at shipping ports or air freight, both of which mean more delays and cost, including promotional plans and long-lead marketing programs (e.g. flyer production). To help us get our arms around this I brought together three experts for this podcast. First, I welcome Frank Lavin, Founder and Chairman, Export Now back to the podcast to set the stage. With decades of the most senior experience in Asia, including U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and working in the White House as an undersecretary of commerce for Asia, he brings a unique and rare voice to the current state of affairs. Second, Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, retail supply chain expert and host of the most excellent podcast, Let’s Talk Supply Chain. Sarah helps us zone in on the retail issues and scope and scale of the issues. Lastly, Audrey Ross, Logistics & Customs Specialist for Orchard customer beauty, a Canadian based global supplier and maker of cosmetics with offices in China and with a global sourcing footprint, brings it all together and gives us a day-to-day perspective dealing with this crisis in their work supplying retailers in North America and around the world.
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
This is a special edition podcast focussed on the coronavirus, COVID-19 and the outbreak of the novel coronavirus as a business risk. Beyond the human cost to people around the world, the disruptive potential to retailers in Canada is real. At this early stage for most it can best be described as a “known-unknowns”, but for some retailers they are feeling the early impacts calling down sales for international locations, late shipments, missed buying trips and perceptible decreases in Chinese tourist-oriented sales in their outlets.
In this episode I’m going to focus on the the Supply Chain Delays and Cost Increases. For most retailers this is a 90day+ issue; the goods on offer made or sourced in China between now and spring at retail are mostly already on the water or in warehouses domestically. Continued delays however mean bottlenecks at shipping ports or air freight, both of which mean more delays and cost, including promotional plans and long-lead marketing programs (e.g. flyer production).
To help us get our arms around this I brought together three experts for this podcast.
First, I welcome Frank Lavin, Founder and Chairman, Export Now back to the podcast to set the stage. With decades of the most senior experience in Asia, including U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and working in the White House as an undersecretary of commerce for Asia, he brings a unique and rare voice to the current state of affairs.
Second, Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, retail supply chain expert and host of the most excellent podcast, Let’s Talk Supply Chain. Sarah helps us zone in on the retail issues and scope and scale of the issues.
Lastly, Audrey Ross, Logistics & Customs Specialist for Orchard customer beauty, a Canadian based global supplier and maker of cosmetics with offices in China and with a global sourcing footprint, brings it all together and gives us a day-to-day perspective dealing with this crisis in their work supplying retailers in North America and around the world.
But first, let’s jump right into my conversation with Frank, live from Singapore.
******
Thanks to Frank, Sarah and Audrey for being my guests on this episode. Well Now let’s hit the highlights of the retail news in Canada and around the world with Retail This Week for the week of February 17th, 2020
That’s a wrap on this edition of The Voice of Retail. If you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.
I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn
Until next time, have a great week!