Well, here we are in February 2021 with Christmas holidays a distant memory, and the new year bringing us new challenges which I am sure will be ongoing throughout the year. Prior to 2020 we would have come into a new year with a rather well-defined picture of what lies ahead and a forecasting plan that was reasonably easy to manage.
Then came Covid-19 and threw the world as we know it into disarray. I am pleased to say we made it through 2020 and Team JFS really got to show our customers why we stand out from the crowd with reliable, consistent quality and service. The global supply chain was and is under enormous pressure (lead times like we've never seen before) which has caused us to re-think, adjust and manage our import programme. Without boring you with too much of the detail back in August/September 2020 we made the decision to expand the forecast range and got additional orders and volumes of our core products out of Europe before they went into winter, as it was always going to be hard to predict what winter would bring for them.
This has put us in a great position for 2021, although it has not all been smooth sailing (excuse the pun) with a still struggling global supply chain. We have been working closely with our customers to not only look at their forecasts but lay them over historical sales reporting and then apply, buffer and lead times to these numbers. We do this as JFS intimately understands the complexities of both the inbound supply chain, in providing the requested products, along with the customer supply chain needs post JFS distribution such as cool chain, crateability, shelf presentation and post-consumer end of life outcomes.
From the above you will be getting a flavour for the basis of the claims we make around our ability to deliver on our promises. In relation to the products themselves, we have literally searched the world over to source the best possible option’s for the solutions you are seeking. Without a doubt, we do have the best and most appropriately certified products on the market with a couple of more that we are looking to introduce in the not so distant future so watch this space......