How your retail ops team can get ahead of the production delays holding up new store builds and remodels.

Is your retail ops team working on new store builds or remodels? If so, you already know the news:

North America’s largest retail shelving and gondola producers are giving notice to all customers and suppliers that production backlogs are delaying delivery to Q1 & Q2 of 2022.

That’s a tough situation for us all.

For retailers like you, it delays the completion of your new store builds and remodels.

For retail environment design/builders like CBSF, it creates backlogs with our projects as:

• Some are forced to go into a holding pattern mid-way through completion.
• Others move ahead with temporary shelving options that later need to be circled around on and completed.
• And a small number of projects are simply being put on hold for 6-12 months.

And for manufacturers, their reputation is taking a hit as everyone looks to them for answers.

But, what can we do? The scarcity of raw materials, challenges within the supply chain, and never-ending shipping delays have wreaked havoc on all industries – especially retail.

So, what can we do? Well, as an entrepreneur who doesn’t like to take no for an answer, I want to share with you the best way for retailers to plan and respond to the current retail shelving and gondola production delays.

Gondola Shelving is The Backbone of Retail

For most retailers, Gondola Shelving and the needed Gondola Accessories are the backbone of their retail footprint.  After all, it’s the most versatile, well-engineered, and most durable type of retail shelving on the market.

So while the production shortages are a challenge we all need to overcome, there’s no way to build out or remodel a retail store without getting your hands on the gondola shelving and accessories you need.

Working with our clients, we’ve developed 3 new strategies to help work around production delays.

Strategy #1 – Work With Our Team Now To Get To The Front Of The Line

As I write this it’s August of 2021. And knowing that many projects will not see their shelving delivered for 6 to 9-months is tough for our team and our clients.

But let’s be honest, new store builds and remodels do not have to be last-minute projects. Like many industries that are forced to plan and purchase materials a season or two in advance, we can work to get ahead of these delays.

So as the old adage goes:

The best defense is a good offense.

So right now, our team is working with our clients to get on the offensive. Attacking the situation head-on by developing custom Q2 and Q3 2022 project plans.

By planning ahead and working to these new long-term timelines, there’s some uncertainty introduced into the process, but it also allows us to secure our customers’ place in the production queues.  It also helps us better ensure that the needed shelving is on hand when it’s needed.

So if you have plans to roll out new stores or complete remodels – I highly recommend contacting our team right away to get this planning process started.

Strategy #2 – CBSF Is Producing Gondola Accessories In-House

The greatest benefit of being one of Canada’s largest retail environment design-builders is that we have over 130,000 sq ft of manufacturing and distribution space at our fingertips which includes:

• Our custom metal fabrication facility
• Our custom wood millwork facility
• And, our acrylic, glass, and signage manufacturing facility

This means that our clients get access to our custom manufacturing capabilities.

When the shelving accessories became hard to source, our team started producing custom quantities and short runs for our clients on demand.

So if you’re having trouble sourcing the Gondola Accessories you need, reach out to our manufacturing team and we’ll get you a quote.

Strategy #3 – Refurbish Used Shelving From the Secondary Market

The final strategy 100% depends on your needs, what you have on hand, or what we can source from the used, secondary market.

Often bases, uprites, and shelves, the core components of a Gondola Shelf, can take a beating, but everything surrounding it makes up the overall look. In short, used bases, uprites and shelves can be refinished. The accessories can not.

So by sourcing used shelving, and then assessing what’s needed to complete the build-out, in some cases, our team can custom manufacture the accessories, signage, backings, etc to give you the shelving you need, with the look you need, without the delays.

Of course, this is a one-off custom approach. Some projects we can complete and others we can not. But it starts with a conversation to scope the requirements, see what we’re working with, and come up with a plan for your project.
Like the other strategies, give us a call so we can work through all the details.

At CBSF We Do Whatever It Takes

“Whatever it takes” is a saying that my team hears time and again. Because the only way to get ahead in business is to embrace that motto and continue to push forward.

While these production delays set us all back, for those retailers who are willing to attack the problem in a whole new way, there are options.

So, if you need to explore your options, if you want to avoid being placed at the back of the line or see your projects pushed out by 6, 9, possibly even 12 months or more, give us a call today.