Supply chain ripple effects

With the latest COVID variant rearing its ugly head – again – many of us are wondering, “When will this $h!t ever end?” Daily reminders are unavoidable as we all push through and try to stay positive, pivoting our businesses and the way we work to make this new pandemic-driven dynamic somehow work.

Supply chain issues have been a topic of discussion all year with many industries, including security, impacted greatly. Response to this month’s News Poll on the topic has been overwhelming, with 91 percent of SSN readers saying their business has been impacted by supply chain issues. A whopping 69 percent said their company was impacted “greatly” with another 21 percent saying “somewhat.”

Another 85 percent said that they have had to pivot their operations due to supply chain issues, showing the kind of ripple effect the pandemic is causing globally.

“As a small dealer it is disappointing that the large manufacturers haven’t been able to rebuild their production and put more inventory into the system,” said one reader. “This has kept them behind the demand curve from the beginning of the pandemic. I understand why product managers missed their initial forecasts, but given their financial resources, they should have been able to put more slack in the supply chain. It will take a long time to get things back in balance.”

Another respondent agreed, noting, “Manufacturers need to do a better job of communicating as we are looking at alternatives because we get very little response from them. We would like to know a little more besides a product is on back-order.”

One integrator noted how disruptive supply chain issues have been, with one respondent pointing out, “Some large commercial installations had to be rescheduled or reconfigured. Difficulty in reaching goals for radio replacement due to inventory shortages.”

Supply chain issues are also impacting things on the consulting side of the equation, with one security consultant noting, “As a specifier, I now must look at availability as well as functionality when specifying a platform.”

As we are all seeing, labor shortages are a major factor in all of this, as one reader noted: “Finding qualified employees is our only setback. Basic economics is the issue with the supply chain, and with union labor, nothing moves through the ports.”

Looking big picture down the road, most (67 percent) SSN readers are “unsure” about the future, with only 10 percent of respondents seeing things improving in 2022.

But as we have learned, we must continue to build on, and learn from past successes – and failures – this past year, while forging a new path forward filled with hope, hard work and optimism.