How We Are Navigating Supply Chain Challenges
The demand for furniture has spiked while the pandemic put the brakes on raw materials, production, manpower, transportation, distribution, and nearly every resource needed to make, ship, and deliver furniture.
Several aspects of doing business during the COVID pandemic have been a challenge. While Herman Miller and our other largely US-based vendors are working through issues pertaining to global sourcing and capacity constraints, we are feeling the effects of greatly rebounding demand simultaneously with disruptions in the global supply chain and a reduced manufacturing labor pool.
We know that all industries have been impacted, but we still want to take the time to thank you for your understanding and let you know what we’re doing to minimize disruptions. Our leadership and operations teams have been instrumental in understanding these issues and have implemented several solutions:
- Utilizing our in-stock and gently used products wherever possible
- Utilizing quick-ship products as much as possible
- Utilizing our line of insourced elevate products where appropriate
- Proactively working with our manufacturing partners to expedite orders
- Assigning experienced team members to address issues and drive operational excellence
- Increasing our pipeline of inventory and providing alternate sources to reduce shortage risks
- Escalating orders through our manufacturing and operations leadership teams
As a result of these efforts, we believe our production capacities and lead times will slowly start to normalize. We ask that orders be placed as soon as possible to mitigate the impact of these constraints. Proactively placing these orders will allow us to allocate components, parts, and production capacity to manage shipments and increase our chance of maintaining the current schedule and timeline.
We appreciate working together with you to navigate these challenges. We value your patience and partnership.