Minute on the clock: Andy Milner, director of procurement and supply chain, WSH

07 December 2021 by
Minute on the clock: Andy Milner, director of procurement and supply chain, WSH

Andy Milner is director of procurement and supply chain at WSH, which has brands including Holroyd Howe, Benugo, BaxterStorey and Searcys. He talks to Katherine Price about the challenges and disruption he and his team have had to deal with over the last year, his expectations for Christmas and changing the mentality of the business

What supply chain disruption are you seeing? Is it certain products?

We're seeing problems across the board. The issues that are causing problems are all common in terms of capacity constraints throughout the supply chain, whether production has been restricted by suppliers as a result of Covid, lack of labour or getting hold of raw materials.

Then there's general disruption in terms of the ability to deliver on time because of restrictions around labour and driver availability. So nothing in particular, but a problem can pop up when you least expect it.

We're working very closely with our operational teams to make sure that they understand that things don't just appear

What we're also seeing is normal supply chain problems that we'd always have, whether that's implementing a new system into their warehouse or somebody having a temporary production failure, and that's amplified by the current situation. While you'd normally be able to deal with those instances quite well, what is incredibly difficult at the moment is dealing with it and finding an alternative too.

Are government measures such as temporary visas having an impact yet?

No, not really. I think they will do in time, but these issues are not easy to fix that quickly. It needs a sustained plan with the involvement of the industry when they're coming up with these ideas and solutions to make them stick.

The challenge our suppliers are facing is that there are people who would like to work, but equally it's how quickly you can get them, train them up and put them behind a wheel or in another role within a factory or warehouse.

What are your expectations for Christmas?

Christmas always presents its own challenges – you've got very specific products associated with Christmas and there's always a supply and demand see-saw of price and availability every year, so this year will be no different. It will probably be worse because of the underlying issues we've got.

What is the business doing to prepare and adapt?

It's about opening up communication between our suppliers and our business to make sure that everybody's fully aware of the change in expectations and requirements that our suppliers are now having to work to.

We were a sector and a business that probably wouldn't forecast that far in advance because of the nature of what we do – it's a very reactive mentality. So having to change that is key, and we're working very closely with our operational teams to make sure that they understand that things don't just appear. We've got to work with our suppliers and their suppliers to give that line of sight into what's required further down the line, but it's also about managing our clients to make sure they understand our challenges and help us forecast accurately.

We've put a lot more rigour into our supply chain in terms of advanced orders and being more flexible in accepting deliveries outside of normal trading hours. Anything we can do to help our suppliers and their supply chain. And that will continue way beyond Christmas.

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