The supply chain disruptions that have transpired in this past year have resulted in unforeseen circumstances in which some of our customers have been affected with order delays and product cancellations altogether. Learning to manage product delays is key as these delays are impacting industries across the board, with the most common issues occurring among printers, identity cards, and printing supplies.
Our team is closely monitoring the situation and is dedicated to ensuring that your orders are properly managed and delivered to you as timely as possible. We will promptly contact you if any issue arises and recommend the best alternatives to move forward.
Here are some solutions we may recommend to manage product delays:
- For plastic cards, move to open formats and go with the card technology manufacturer that can provide a better delivery time.
- Rather than using a YMCKK 200 print ribbon, you can use a YMCK 250 print ribbon, which, despite only getting a fraction of the yield, helps in a pinch.
In addition, some steps you can take to prevent issues related to order delays include:
- Order in advance, long before stock levels become dangerously low.
- Purchase larger quantities so that you stock up on extras, just in case.
- If using smart cards that are factory programmed, you could potentially invest in custom keys and encode the cards yourself. Despite opening up your technology and manufacturer options, this route also implies its own set of issues.
- Many smart card readers can also read low-frequency prox, which means that as a short-term solution, you can potentially order proximity cards, but you would be sacrificing the security that a smartcard solution offers, plus lose the ability to use the card for other use cases, like vending, printing, etc.
What we’re hearing from manufacturers:
The general consensus from our manufacturers is that they’re working on resolving these delivery challenges as soon as possible, with some unable to provide shipping details other than an order acknowledgment once material becomes available, which may take months. In short, there is no real plan in place since their hands are tied until the market stabilizes, which is why we urge you to take the necessary precautionary steps to avoid finding yourself in a risky situation.
The satisfaction of our customers is our top priority, and we want to reassure you that we’re in this together. For any immediate concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our team at 800.486.1312 or email us at sales@higgins3.com.
