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Moulding on a slow boat

Gregory K. Norris CPF

RIP Past PPFA President 2016-2018
Certified Picture Framer®

In Remembrance

Rest In Peace



Messages
3,916
Location
Huntington, West Virginia
Company
Huntington Hall of Frames
I am generally pretty sympathetic to the problems our suppliers face, but for the second time this month I learned that a moulding was out of stock at the point of ordering it. Things happen, I get it.

But...when a supplier is emailing me frequently to tell me how great their products and services are but can't be troubled to let me know which items are low in inventory or out of stock...I begin to wonder if they understand us at all.

Surely they know what they are low on and have reordered. It seems to me that they could let us know. In fact, I don't know why this could not be configured to come up on POS software. There must be something I am missing.

This is more than a problem for the frame shop. It is a problem for the customer, and ultimately a problem for the supplier. If I learn that a moulding is out of stock for 3 months, I have to take the corner off the wall. When or if a busy shop remembers to follow up and make sure the frame is back in stock, and the corner goes back up is anybody's guess. There is always another vendor anxious to have that spot on the wall.

If a customer learns that a frame is out of stock for 3 months, I am probably going to lose the sale. Making a trip to the frame shop and spending a minimum of 20 minutes selecting a frame is one thing, it is quite another when they have to come back...and with no assurance that their second choice will be available in a timely way.

We are now in an environment where waiting as much as 10 minutes on the phone to talk to a rep is pretty common, so checking stock while the customer is present is not practical. Long gone are the days when the factory was a day or two away from the supplier. And customers are expecting faster and faster service.

I don't know what the answer to this conundrum is. If it were simple, I think our suppliers would have solved it by now. I know they don't like the status quo much either.
 
What I find the most frustrating is when I am told a moulding that is out of stock will arrive at the end of the month and when I call, it is pushed back another month. Place the call again and uh oh, it is pushed out another month. This just happened and my patient customer has waited for 5 months for a moulding to arrive. What's a framer to do??? Patient yes, but there is a limit!
 
Many times, moulding is delay on board a ship. There are so many things that can delay a shipment. Weather and customs delays in the port seem to be the reasons I hear most frequently. I don't mind the delays that I know about. It is the after-the-fact part that seems to make things hard for me.
 
There are so many things that can delay a shipment. Weather and customs delays in the port seem to be the reasons I hear most frequently.

Well, those are things out of an ones control, so they are handy scape goats. I can see a day or two here or there, maybe a week if you have a "perfect storm" of problems. But month(s)??!
 
Most of the mouldings used in the United States are made overseas, and the only practical method of purchase is to buy a full shipping container, which contains thousands of feet of mouldings. The manufacturers, especially in some Asian countries, often make delivery promises they know they cannot keep. Also, it is not uncommon for several American distributors to share a container of moulding, and one or another of the items may be problematic.

Our importing suppliers, knowing about the inaccurate promises and delivery complications from direct experience, should answer our inquiries honestly. Some do, but some don't.

When I receive information to the effect that a particular moulding is out of stock and expected in __ weeks, I will tell the customer something like this:

"I'm sorry to report that the frame moulding you have selected is presently not available. A new shipment is supposed to arrive by container ship from overseas in __ weeks, but we know from experience that these estimates are often inaccurate. So, unless you are prepared to wait indefinitely, I suggest you stop in and consider an alternative moulding, such as _________(suggest one or more alternatives). In any case, we will perform to the best of our ability. What would be your preference?"

Customers usually select another moulding and we proceed without delay, and it is not uncommon for customers to say they are in no hurry, let's just wait. I recall only two occasions when customers have canceled their orders due to import delivery delays.

Domestic manufacturers, such as Vermont Hardwoods, perform much better. Thank you for that, David.
 
This is more than a problem for the frame shop. It is a problem for the customer, and ultimately a problem for the supplier. If I learn that a moulding is out of stock for 3 months, I have to take the corner off the wall. When or if a busy shop remembers to follow up and make sure the frame is back in stock, and the corner goes back up is anybody's guess. There is always another vendor anxious to have that spot on the wall.

Not that it makes it right but that may be part of their reluctance to fess up.
 
Jim Miller is very accurate about this problem. As importers we work very hard to try and keep moulding stocked, based on turn around (popularity), and timing of containers coming in. When you work with several manufacturers each providing certain lines of moulding you inevitably have a profile that sells out. Getting the new stock can be a wait of 3 months, dependent on timing as well as manufacturer production schedule. Even if we run out of a moulding that could possibly be put on an incoming container we can't, its already full.
Being a small distributor we do our best to notify customers of out of stocks and discontinued mouldings thru email alerts and phone calls. From our point of view, being proactive about it is essential to good customer relations, we can't please everyone but we certainly try.

Scott
 
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