STUCK SHIP EVER GIVEN, SUEZ CANAL — MARCH 29, 2021: Satellite image (c) 2020 Maxar Technologies.
Recently, supply chain issues were in the headlines with the challenging Suez Canal backup. With just one ship (The Ever Given) stuck on the canal, it backed up supply lines and cost billions of dollars, per day, in delays.
While this was the most public supply chain hiccup in the past month, it certainly is not the only one.
Every day, the construction industry sees challenges with suppliers and getting the products needed to build our owners visions. These challenges have been even more prevalent as the Corona virus has wreaked havoc on global economy.
When the pandemic first started to shut things down there was a time when everybody panicked, and the future was unsure.
Will all current projects have to shut down?
Are any projects going to go to bid?
What followed was unprecedented.
You had thousands, perhaps millions, of people that were furloughed. These people decided they had the time now to do all the projects around the house. Then on top of that saw and steel mills were not able to operate at full capacity. This led to many mills not being able to keep up with demand. When demand can’t be met guess what happens?
The price increases.
What does Bowman Construction do to help our clients and weather the supply storm?
- Through our excellent forecasting experience, we can provide clients with pricing that will be accurate throughout the entire duration of the projects.
- We pre buy supplies on projects before items are needed so we can eliminate the possibility of added cost to the client.
- We work with our vendors and subcontractors during pre-construction to identify long lead items so that they can be procured prior to being needed onsite.
These are just a few ways that Bowman Constructors can help smooth the supply process in a rough economic environment.
Now, as the world begins to get vaccinated, and things hopefully soon will open, are we going to see these prices come down?
While we can’t predict the future, we can help eliminate some of the unpredictability of project cost associated with unprecedented supply demand issues.
Bowman Constructors is here to help guide the ship and work with our owners to keep things flowing smoothly.