Still awaiting the arrival of Christmas presents you ordered online weeks ago? This holiday season, millions of Americans are experiencing the same frustrating delays due to supply chain imbalances happening around the world. Luckily, Farmulated’s vertically integrated model has allowed us to remain exempt from the persisting supply and demand hurdles.
Why are we exempt? A vertically integrated model means the majority of our products are grown, processed and distributed right from our family farm. As small-town crop farmers, the importance of maintaining a self-sustaining, American-made business is a standard we set decades ago, and one that has proved critical amid so many domestic and foreign supply chain blockages.
So, how did the current supply chain Nightmare Before Christmas begin? Long before the 2021 holiday season, COVID-19 lockdowns forced factories to temporarily cease operations and thousands of small businesses to close their doors. Worker shortages plagued all industries, causing supplies to dwindle. To top it all off, the fear of never-ending lockdowns led some consumers to bulk-purchase many household items (ahem, toilet paper) and nonperishables, further contributing to the massive lack of supply.
Recent reports show approximately 39 percent of small businesses reported domestic supplier delays and shortages, with the manufacturing sector hit the hardest. And for wholesale small businesses utilizing foreign suppliers, a whopping 42 percent have been hit with delays.
For last-minute holiday shoppers, a diminishing window of time paired with low supplies poses an even bigger problem: Where do you go to get fully stocked products? Our advice is, of course, an American-made, vertically integrated small business.
Might we recommend Farmulated?
We hope you’ll #shopsmall with us online, at our Route 97 location or at our Millcreek Mall store for all of your last-minute gifting needs.
