Supply chain woes

Out-of-whack supply chain challenges business owners

From restaurants to furniture makers to paint stores, managers are adjusting to uncertain deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “You don’t just twiddle your thumbs,” one retailer said.

by CHRIS BURRITT

NW GUILFORD – This past Tuesday, fried chicken breasts smothered in gravy were back on the menu at Parker’s Home Cookin’ Restaurant in Stokesdale. But there’s no guarantee the dish will return next week.

The same goes for the availability of turkeys at the Bi-Rite supermarket a few miles away. Plentiful now, the chilled and frozen birds are probably going to fly out of the store before Thanksgiving next Thursday, owner David Wrenn said.

“If people want them, they better buy them soon,” Wrenn said earlier this week, echoing the frustration of other business owners in northwestern Guilford County over inconsistent and sometimes non-existent supplies of products vital to their operations.

“When we order 100 cases of turkey breasts, we get only 10,” Wrenn said in an interview as he greeted customers at the cash registers of his store. “Cranberry sauce is low. It goes on and on.”

It’s not just food for people that’s dogged by inconsistent supply.

Some dog food contains meat, poultry and other proteins consumed by people, putting some of

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Photo by Chris Burritt/NWO Emily Ennis, an employee of Best 4K9’s store in Oak Ridge, arranges newly arrived cans of dog food replacing a brand that’s not available due to supply chain disruptions.

the products sold by Best 4K9 at the mercy of the same shortages and higher prices of meats sold in grocery stores, according to Phil Ray, owner of Best 4K9. “We don’t see certain proteins come in,” Ray said earlier this week in his Oak Ridge store. He also operates outlets in northern Greensboro and Winston-Salem. “Prices have gone up.” Deliveries from U.S. dog food makers are also vulnerable to global shipping delays because some tin cans, packaging and labels are produced overseas. “It’s another challenge,” said Ray, explaining he’s grown adept at replacing hard-to-find canned foods and meat treats from particular vendors with different brands. “You just don’t twiddle your thumbs.” Despite supply chain challenges, Ray said, “we’ve got to overcome that and give our customers the experience 22 NOV. 18 - DEC. 1, 2021 The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 they’re looking for. If we hunker down and just try to get through it, the stores wouldn’t look fresh. We’re bringing in new products, showing our customers that we’re invested.” Shortages and delayed deliveries reflect the lingering consequences of shutdowns and curtailed operations of meat processing and other factories in the U.S. and across the world. Some workers displaced by the disruptions have failed to return to jobs across many industries, including food processing and transportation.

The shortage of dock workers and truck drivers has contributed to record-setting backups of cargo ships at major U.S. ports. Last month, President Joe Biden announced the Port of Los Angeles would begin operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ease backlogs of merchandise.

In Oak Ridge, some shelves in the Sherwin-Williams store reserved for paints, primers and finishes are sparse, reflecting disruptions to deliveries beyond the impact of COVID-19.

A sign posted near the checkout counter in the paint store informs customers that a supply chain surcharge of 4% will remain in effect until the end of the year due to “increased costs associated with transportation, freight and labor.”

Aside from the pandemic’s impact, ...continued on p. 25