On the back of the pandemic-related lockdowns throughout many parts of Australia, we’ve had some time to catch our breath, reassess our local supply chain, and implement new strategies to help our members to stay prepared.
At the height of the pandemic though, we were contending with some never before encountered supply chain challenges. Worldwide lockdowns strained global supply chains on two main fronts. Namely, both the production and transportation of goods.
Global supply chain issues
During early stages of the pandemic, production issues were more of a pressing concern. Activity restrictions were mostly to blame for this cessation, initially in China then in other countries. Once global demand rebounded around the middle of 2020, supply chains were then hit by a subsequent issue – transportation. In particular, sea freight services were dramatically impacted and were largely responsible for worldwide supply chain issues.
For us in Australia, these supply chain issues are still rippling through many of our industries even as we approach the end of 2022. In fact, recent survey data indicates around 10 percent of businesses are experiencing severe supply chain issues, with smaller businesses more affected than medium and large businesses.[1]
Helping sourcing and stocking of PPE
At Procurement Australia, our Relationship Managers, sales team members and sourcing leads have been acutely aware of these supply chain issues, and what they mean for members.
For some members, it has meant changing the way they procure once easier to obtain items. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the majority of businesses facing supply chain issues have made the relatively small change of altering ordering processes, including submitting orders earlier than previously and, to a lesser extent, seeking to maintain higher inventory levels.[2]
Further to this, the RBA data indicates that health and aged care firms tops this list of those altering their product supply, especially around the reliable stream of personal protective equipment (PPE) to their patients and residents. Being able to secure regular supplies of PPE – and the necessary storage products to keep them – has been one way we’ve helped our aged care and health members stay ahead of global supply chain issues.
Through our partnership with Bunnings Trade, we’ve assisted aged care members to create additional storage spaces to house their lifesaving PPE stocks. This partnership with Bunnings Trade allows Procurement Australia members exclusive access to the entire Bunnings range, all for the lowest possible price. It means that we can help healthcare and aged members to adjust the regularity of their supply of necessary items.
We’ve helped aged care members around the country to not only source lifesaving PPE when they needed it most, but also to adjust their supply chain strategy to ensure they were always prepared, even under the most changing circumstances.
What our members are saying
“Aged Care Deloraine has been using Bunnings PowerPass since December 2020.
The Bunnings offering through Procurement Australia has allowed us, as a not-for-profit, to acquire greater discounts on items for our Aged Care facilities.
In particular, we have used the discounted pricing to purchase much-needed shelving to house our PPE items during COVID-19. We also make use of the delivery options, and we can check pricing against other suppliers easily.
The card system makes purchasing easy, and we get a monthly statement to reconcile our purchases.” Matt Flakemore, Chief Financial Officer, Aged Care Deloraine
[1] See ABS (2021), ‘Business Conditions and Sentiments’, 30 April 2021. Available at https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/business-indicators/business-conditions-and-sentiments/latest-release
[2] Reserve Bank of Australia, ‘Supply Chains During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, May 2021. Available at https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/smp/2021/may/box-b-supply-chains-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.html
