This story is part of a series on how supply chain disruptions are affecting Oregon businesses and industries. Read the complete coverage here.
For the team at Slumberkins, the last year and a half has been one of learning, flexibility and agility to work through supply chain and logistics constraints that are rippling through the global economy.
That the company was already a fast-growing startup made some of these fast pivots easier, at least mechanically. But it’s still been an incredibly challenging time, said Vice President of Operations Marisa Williams.
The company, which was the sixth fastest growing private company in Oregon and Southwest Washington this year, makes emotional learning resources for families. These are in the form of 15 characters created to help children with emotional learning. Characters are tied to books that tackle topics like family change, grief and loss, and self-esteem. Each character has two versions of a plush toy, one for babies and one for toddlers and other children.
The plush toys are made overseas in China and Vietnam, where the overall toy supply chain exists, Williams said. However, the books have been a place where the company has been able to adjust manufacturing with their paper printing vendor.
Some of the book work has been moved to Mexico, and they are evaluating the U.S. This is all to cut down on transit time and transportation costs, which are the biggest hang-ups.
Williams said paper lead times have quadrupled and the lead time for the fabric used on the plush toys has tripled. That extra time has to be baked into development.
“So even just starting the build of a product has become exceptionally more complicated and lengthy in process,” she said. It’s taking a year to go from concept to product availability based on sourcing lead times and transit times.
The team has worked closely with its vendors to work through all of these delays. They are focused on collecting as much data as possible to be able to plan inventory and move product at the right times. They have also had to make fast changes when it comes to logistics.
Typically product is moved by boat, and like many West Coast Companies, they used the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Tacoma.
“Once our very first container got held up at the Port of Los Angeles congestion at the start of this year, we realized, oh, we need to make a very quick pivot here,” she said, adding that the container was held at the port for three months. Part of that time was off the coast and part was at the port.
Once product is off a boat it is moved by truck to the company’s distribution center outside of Chicago. The company figured out it was more cost- and time-effective to skip West Coast ports and move product from Asia to the Port of New York and New Jersey and then move it to Illinois. That move saved three weeks on delivery time.
When trucks were in short supply at the start of the year, they moved to domestic rail. Then over the summer when rail became congested as everyone else made that same move, Slumberkins moved back to trucks.
“It’s been this game of being nimble and reacting to the environment,” Williams said, noting these changes have come with minimal price increases for consumers. “There’s always lots of plans you can put in place, but even some of the best laid plans had obstacles that we’ve never seen before in our lifetime.”
