Does Your Supplier Have Your Back?

The Background

One of our grocery clients Metro stores in Quebec and Ontario has been ordering our reusable shopping bags since 1996. In Canada, the government announced a country wide ban on single use plastic bags was scheduled to start at the end of December 2022. As part of Metro’s approach to corporate responsibility they wanted to advertise that they would no longer supply single use plastic bags at checkout by September 1, 2022, ahead of the ban. Metro takes sustainability very seriously. Don’t take our word for it, read more about their corporate responsibility here. Metro had placed orders for reusable shopping bags well ahead of time to make sure stores would be properly stocked prior to the September 1, 2022 deadline.

The Challenge

Prior to advertising the September 1 deadline, Metro asked us if they allowed for sufficient time in placing their orders. Based on what we knew at the time they had enough time. But with vessel delays, rail delays and trucking delays not to mention the closure of overseas ports due to COVID everyone was starting to get anxious that the deadline would not be met. Metro had some stock in their warehouse but with the deadline quickly approaching it wasn’t enough. One of the biggest issues we experienced was the rails delays in Vancouver. Once the containers were off the vessel the wait time for rail could be weeks. Weeks we didn’t have. It was imperative to find a solution to get the product to Quebec and Ontario faster. Disappointing a client is not an option. Read more about congestion.

The Solution

We had several containers that had arrived at the destination port that were waiting for rail. We decided instead of waiting we would be pro-active and trans-load several containers at our cost to Quebec and Ontario. We had the containers picked up at the port of Vancouver and brought to a warehouse where the goods were unload from the containers and put in a trucks. The trucks were driven from Vancouver to Quebec and Ontario to Metro’s warehouse. In trans-loading the goods, we were able to cut the wait time by 10 days, therefore insuring Metro would have enough stock in stores to meet their deadline. We were fully transparent during this process, providing the client with up to the minute information and tracking. Not letting a client down is the least we can do as a supplier. Is this something your supplier would do?

The Result

Metro’s marketing strategy was successfully implemented. The stores had enough product for the launch and there was nothing the procurement department had to answer for. This is what we call a win win win. Does your supplier have your back?

This is just one example of many to highlight when working with us we will always have your back. Call us today for a quote on your next project.