Supply Chain Issues
Simon Miller • February 23, 2022
Supply Chain Issues
We cannot currently offer much positive news regarding our supply issues. The Finnish Paper Mill Workers strike has compounded a supply chain that was already suffering issues and under pressure from unprecedented demand, much of this driven as the UK and other Countries see industry bounce back following the Covid 19 Pandemic.
Pricing / Costs
Over recent Years, although raw material prices have risen, we, through investment, better purchasing arrangements, introducing alternative work patterns and, thanks to the staff and management being able to be more flexible, offset general price increases to you.
However, on top of recent increases, we are again needing to looking at prices, and so again ask / remind you to please check prices before ordering.
Since Summer 2021 we have seen price increases of in excess of 40% in our raw materials, some materials in excess of 50%, from the 1st March we are seeing further increases in the region of 11%. On top of this, energy, transport etc is increasing. We understand that this is not the news you would want.
Our prices, in the main over previous Years have been stable, as we currently work through quotes and re-quote, we are seeing that our prices for many jobs have remained unchanged for some time, up to in 10 years in some cases, but the current trend in increase seems set to continue, following reviews in November and December 2021, January and February 2022 we now find ourselves needing to review again.
We have been advised by suppliers that they are reserving the right to amend (increase) prices even after we have placed our raw material order, in practice we have not ourselves had this happen, yet, but it is possible that we may need to advise of price increases to jobs already placed. We will do all we can to avoid this situation.
Order Confirmation / Flexibility
We do try, under normal circumstance, to issue our order confirmations within 24 hours of receiving your order, this possible as we in turn would receive a prompt order confirmation for the raw material or be able to use our stock. Currently suppliers are taking up to 7 days to confirm our orders, the result meaning we in turn are unable to confirm you order as promptly as we would like. To add to the issues here, we are seeing dates moving, both improving, but more commonly, being extended, making the job of confirmation very difficult. (as one competitor described it "impossible")
It was the case, until December, that around half of our 400,000+ sq mts of raw material would be free from allocation and so available for any suitable job. This would allow us to fit in urgent jobs more easily, amend the production programme to suit more efficient running, and stay close to the delivery dates you requested.
As the uncertainty of supply hits harder, and our stock reduces, it is the case that nearly all of our paper is now allocated against a job, meaning that our ability to be able to help with urgent requests, fitting in that urgent job, even the smallest, has now evaporated, our flexibility currently reduced.
Raw Material / Delivery
While we do still have paper stocks and also have delivery of material arriving regularly, the volume is decreasing and delivery times worsening, from 2 weeks to 3 weeks and further. While we have been and still do remain positive, we do see that the next weeks could see some harder challenges. We may be forced to restrict orders, ie if you order 300,000 labels, we may only be able to supply 150,000, 100,000, we are already seeing restrictions with our raw material orders. This does not help in the long term, jobs needing to be run multiple times adding to our work load. It would be the case that we would need to pass carriage on in these circumstance.
The strike shows no sign of ending, but despite all of the above, demand is still unprecedented, we are not alone in currently holding our largest ever order book, but we can see that the coming weeks may need us to work together to allow some supply to all of you.
We will continue to keep you advised as best as we are able and again, should your colleagues need sight of this, please do share,
Simon
Excitement is building as a HGV pulls up outside
Welcoming another new colleague
Celebrating what we love doing
New ERP system loading...
Richard Phillips’ 25 Years Service – 28 August 2025
Simon Miller’s Retirement – 8 th August 2025
Secura Labels awarded EcoVadis Silver Medal for Sustainability
2024 A little look back at 2024 and into 2025 - Further press investment, as a further Focus Label Machinery Limited Proflex arrived in February, this 4 colour machine, our first fitted with LED curing, will have automated finishing through one of our turret rewinders. Investment continues in 2025 as we are currently installing a new MIS system, which will allow shop floor data collection, improved stock control etc... We also look forward to celebrating some long service awards during the Year. With much achieved in 2024, we are looking forward to a further successful 12 Months!
Cutters / dies, we carry a vast library of cutters, 1,000`s in fact. Most of these are magnetic, thin metal sheets, attached to magnetic bases, which means that many are interchangeable across our machines. We do still use and order "solid" cutters, this can be for a range of reasons, one of our cutter suppliers, Kocher & Beck, offer a view on the Pros and Cons between Flexible and Solid cutters here . Once a cutter / die is made it is not possible to alter, a new one would be needed to change any aspect, corner radius, gap between labels etc..... It should also be noted that cutters made to cut certain materials, say direct thermal paper, may not be able to cut a PP. This is much like your kitchen knives, a butter knife would not be used for slicing bread for instance, like our cutters, cutting angles, even material, could be different. We do always try and order a cutter to cover as wide a range of material as possible, but sometimes this is not possible. Cutter setting is one of the most critical aspects of our production, getting the die "strike" just right can be the difference between a job running well and not. Too heavy a "strike", and we risk cutting through the backing paper, giving you, the user, issues. Not heavy enough and we will have issues with stripping the waste matrix and not be able to run at an acceptable press speed. Cutter care also plays a part here and we expect our operators to maintain a high standard of care. All of our operators, indeed all of our staff, have been through the Kocker & Beck Training Academy where they learned various aspects of cutter setting, care of cutters, alongside seeing how a cutter is made. We are always open to visitors, so if you wanted to find out more about cutters, give us a call and arrange to drop in. Common Questions - "I want to change the gap between the labels, I wont need a new cutter will I?" Once cutter is made, it is not possible to change any aspects, so to change a gap or corner radius would mean a new cutter. "I have just order some labels on semi gloss paper, but you are quoting a new cutter for a PP job of the same size, why? " Much like your kitchen knives, a butter knife would not be used for cutting bread, a cheese knife not used for preparing vegetables. Cutting angles and even material could be different for best cutting a PP compared to a paper. "Can I have any size label, any shape?" Within reason yes, our current smallest cutter is 5mm dia, our largest 312 x 416mm (this the largest we could produce), but you can have any size. As for shapes, we can, or at least the cutter makers can, make quite complex shapes, the biggest factor we need to consider, is can we strip the waste from a very complex shape? "How much time does a new cutter add to my order?" Usually, a new cutter would be with us in around 48 hours, so there should be no major impact on delivery times. "Why can I never get a simple gap of say 3mm, why is it 3.4mm?" Our machines, and so cutters, work based on imperial measurement, 1/8" gearing. This does mean that cutters / print cylinders need to fit into increments of 1/8", which results in the gaps it does. "How heavy are the cutters?" They can be very heavy, 25kg +, but all of our machines are equipped with lifting equipment to lift the cutters in and out.
Our MD, Simon, turns 60 in August, and to mark the occasion, he is on a fundraising effort. He aims to raise funds for the Charity " Children with Cancer ", via the Le Jog Sisters Spin on the Square event, but with other "challenges" throughout 2024. "My five Grandchildren are, luckily, fit and healthy and so I wanted to do something to help those not as fortunate as we are." As many of you will be aware, Simon is no stranger to charity fundraising, his previous "challenges" include - Trekking in Nepal, Trekking to Machu Picchu in Peru, Climbing the High Atlas in Morocco, Cycling across the Sinai Desert and around Europe on the Three Cities Ride, to highlight just a few! Please, if you are able, consider donating to this great cause - https://www.justgiving.com/page/spin-on-the-square-2024 - any amount, large or small, will be gratefully received! Simon`s list of "challenges" 9th March - Loggerheads 10k - Off road trail run - "A tough run, big "climbs", "technical" downhills, but fun, especially the second lap when the route was familiar " 17th March - Fradley 10k Road Race - "My aim was sub 60mins, its four years plus since I ran 10k, so at sub 55mins, just, a success! A busy run with many more people than I had guessed, the sunshine a welcome addition!" 7th April - Cathedral to Castle - 10 mile run - "A much longer distance than I have run for many years, the challenging multi terrain route, not made any easier by storm Kathleen, with the gusting wind making going hard. I didn't know what to expect time wise, but thought 1 hour 45 minutes a good target, with a harder route than I had guessed, my 1 hour 38 minutes felt a good time, finishing 458 out of 1027 runners" 20th April - Dirty Reiver - 130km / 2100mts Climbing - Off road / gravel cycle around Kielder Forest - "Picking up a cough & cold where not part of the Reiver plan, nor was a very frosty start after a night camping, but wow, what an event. Described by some as the UK`s toughest gravel ride, it did not disappoint. Despite the cough, I did manage to finish in 6 hours 57 minutes, so under my 7 hours target, coming home in around 400th place out of some 800 finishers (130k route). Some fast downhill on gravel forest tracks, topping out at 33mph, had the heart racing, as did the 7,000+ ft of climbing..... a great day in the saddle" To get a feel of the event you can watch one of the many YouTube videos Here . 1st May - Spin on the Square May - The Hodge - 100 mile "reliability trial" 25th / 26th May - Headstock 200 - 200km / 4500mts Climbing - 2 Day "bike packing" " adventure " 7th - 8th June - ? 14th June - Brooksie"s Bash - 10 mile trial run 6th October - Dovedale Dash - Trail run + Keep an eye on our "Social Media" for updates on Simon`s progress! (Links in bold)
