Page 83 - OHS, September 2022

steady supply of product to their customers, regardless of delays or challenges presented by offshore manufacturing and the impact of Covid-19. You benefit by having access to products on the shelves that might otherwise not be available.
Near-shore supply chain. Where the manufacturing of products you are buying takes place matters. If the products are made in countries in close proximity to where you’re located, you’re less likely to experience disruption from the backlog being experienced today from lengthy shipments coming across the ocean in container ships, getting delayed in shipping ports.
Companies that pivoted, handling the challenge of the pandemic successfully early on. All companies faced the same challenges during the pandemic. Some pivoted and were able to maintain momentum and growth despite the global challenges. Companies that were frozen and stuck in place in the early months of the pandemic had a difficult time gaining traction as time wore on. In fact, recently conducted research bears this out:
“The key difference between the best and the rest is how successful they were at managing the scarce time, talent and energy of their workforces before Covid-19. Companies that were stars before the pandemic have continued to shine. Those with less stellar performance have struggled mightily.”1
In fact, the “best” companies experienced much greater productivity, and were able to more fully leverage the limited resources of time, talent and energy.
What Does the Future Hold?
Protective footwear delays are expected to continue throughout 2022 and into 2023. Lockdowns overseas have further exacerbated delays, causing manufacturing shutdowns. This is particularly true in China, where the government has taken an aggressive stance on reducing the risk of Covid-19 transmission through lockdowns.
And, keep in mind that most vendors are focusing on manufacturing the most popular styles, so you are not going to have the broad selection you might otherwise expect, and that we’ve become accustomed to in the U.S.
So, take the steps needed to ensure your workers are protected: choose a supplier that understands the issues and has proactively taken steps to alleviate the challenges that the industry is facing. Ultimately, your selection of suppliers is likely the single greatest indicator of whether or not your employees will have access to the protective footwear they need to stay safe on-the-job—or not.
Barbara Fitzgeorge is the Vice President of Marketing at Tyndale USA. www.TyndaleUSA.com.
REFERENCE
1. https://hbr.org/2020/12/the-pandemic-is-widening-a-corporate- productivity-gap.
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SEPTEMBER 2022 | Occupational Health & Safety 79 5/3/22 12:534 PM
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