Global Supply Chain Crisis 2021: Megathread - A cozy thread for watching the supply chain fall apart just in time for the holidays

[Kane Lives]

And they can do it with a fraction of the staff as well. I think Aldi are the only place that hasn't had a staff shortage in the UK, because they never have more than four people working in the building at any given moment.

I don't get it. What's the magic dust that Aldi has that the others do not?

 

[contradiction of terns]

I don't get it. What's the magic dust that Aldi has that the others do not?

Probably the same as Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A, In 'n Out, and probably a few other middle sized independently owned companies built their own supply chains for some reason or other and treat their workers well. Truett S. Cathy was quite literally religious about treating his people right.

TLDL ; Mormonism.

Edit: Protestantism specifically in Aldi's case, apparently.

 

[trent]

I don't get it. What's the magic dust that Aldi has that the others do not?

Lidl is pretty much the same and i have a buddy that has worked for them for over 10 years. The pay is good and they treat their workers really well with bonuses, organised events, etc. It's one of the few jobs of it's kind where you can approach management and ask for a pay rise and they will give you one if they think it is merited. They will offer training to anyone who has an interest in going upwards in the company and will pay for their employees to do management degrees. They've been paying their front-line employees an extra few quid per-hour all during covid. It's a completely different culture from other retail jobs.

The other side of it is that you are expected to work every single minute that you are in the store. If you aren't on the checkouts, you're out on the floor packing shelves/cleaning/rotating stock. The hours can be nuts, if the next shift rings in sick then you are there for the rest of the day. Starting out you'll be on fairly low guaranteed hours (10-15 a week) and if you suck at the job the manger will take you aside and tell you to buck the fuck up and if you don't do that they will just put you on the bare minimum until you have no choice but to do better or leave. Also, they don't allow unions in the job but that hasn't been an issue so far in this country at least.

 

[Billy Beer]

I don't get it. What's the magic dust that Aldi has that the others do not?

Instead of one, gigantic super store in every town/city, competing with every other gigantic super store, Aldi have lots and lots of smaller shops dotted about the town/city.

Because it's a smaller store, it's easier to stock and keep on top of, with less staff.

 

[Kendall Motor Oil]

Instead of one, gigantic super store in every town/city, competing with every other gigantic super store, Aldi have lots and lots of smaller shops dotted about the town/city.

Because it's a smaller store, it's easier to stock and keep on top of, with less staff.

Now that you mention it, it is like Dollar General but cleaner, better lit, and with a less depressing selection,

 

[borsabil]

Why is this happening again? São Paulo is kind of falling apart right now and I suspect this might be one of the untold reasons.

Inflation.

Contracts have been signed a year in advance at fixed prices with the assumption that the pandemic would lead to deflationary pressures, so no need to pay for expensive hedge insurance. Besides suppliers had to preserve cash because of the lockdowns. Government printers went brrrrrrr, the opposite of deflation happened and suppliers don't want to fulfill as they'll lose money. Claim Force Majeure because of muh Covid to avoid breach. Maybe they'll fulfill if the customer agrees to a price increase but corporates refuse as that would mean no executive bonus this year. So shelves empty.

Give you an example where inflation is seriously fucking up global supply chains. If you've been paying attention to the news you'll know China has an energy crisis at the moment, and so do many European countries. Why? Because governments have regulated fixed prices for consumer electricity while the inputs have rocketed. In China this means generators are much better off simply closing down plant rather than making electricity. Government responds not by easing pricing restrictions but closing factories to reduce demand.

Combine that with a massive labor shortage. Real wages in the US have fallen in the past 2 years so many won't work for below subsistence compensation. The only solution to this is to stop the money printing but there's no sign that there's any intention to do that.

 

[FatalTater]

Heard from a factory line worker that because the company wasn't getting enough supplies to make the things they make, not only were they not able to produce certain items but they were sending employees home early and giving extra days off. A lot of workers aren't getting enough hours to pay their bills.

I hope TPTB get their shit together and fix this or winter is going to be interesting.

 

[Return of the Freaker]

I hope TPTB get their shit together and fix this or winter is going to be interesting.

Why would they ever do that? They need everyone to get used to shortages so they're appreciative of their benevolent overlords when it's time to get in their wagie pod and get daily drone deliveries from the world government

 

[Comandante Marcos]

Why would they ever do that? They need everyone to get used to shortages so they're appreciative of their benevolent overlords when it's time to get in their wagie pod and get daily drone deliveries from the world government

That might backfire. Shortages are one thing. Having almost zero food in the stores, and almost zero gas at the gas pumps, is quite another. England is pretty much there already. When it comes to the US, we will have a country where most people are armed to their eyeballs, hate all their neighbors, and believe that "looking out for Number One" is the way life should be. And then the grocery stores and gas pumps will be literally fucking EMPTY except for maybe some cheap condiments. When your kids are wasting away from malnutrition, and you and your wife are too, and you have a Kalashnikov with 100k rounds of ammo in the closet, and you think that your next door neighbor may have some sardine cans stashed away, and everybody else in your neighborhood thinks the same about everybody else, well...

 

[derpherp2]

We could actually see widespread grocery store automation by 2031 at this rate. If you've ever worked retail, you know that the average store is full of do-nothing, redundant jobs where easily 30-40% could be automated (probably more, but corporate has a conservative mindset on that). Whichever chain automates first is going to be posting huge earnings with what they'll save on labor costs. Even a chain like K-Mart could rise from the dead by embracing automation in this environment.

Now the interesting part is what they'll do in the meantime since most store automation aside from the self-checkout is pretty much in the prototype stage. How high will the wages be for working retail? It's already looking actually decent for once, even accounting for inflation.

You do realize most of the problems at retail is that the customers are indignant retards that WANT someone to fix their problems for them, regardless if it's impossible or not. And, have a habit of being destructive faggots on all the steps along the way.

Now add autmated systems that require maintenance, and you changed a glorified babysitting job..... To a glorified babysitting job with an exposed eletrical outlet that costs 2000 dollaridoos and some Techie from outside to fix it - I'm not fixing your shit for minimum wage. Faggot.

 

[Return of the Freaker]

You do realize most of the problems at retail is that the customers are indignant retards that WANT someone to fix their problems for them, regardless if it's impossible or not. And, have a habit of being destructive faggots on all the steps along the way.

Now add autmated systems that require maintenance, and you changed a glorified babysitting job..... To a glorified babysitting job with an exposed eletrical outlet that costs 2000 dollaridoos and some Techie from outside to fix it - I'm not fixing your shit for minimum wage. Faggot.

Ex food service, current IT confirms. The customer is always brain damaged

 

[Synthetic Smug]

Instead of one, gigantic super store in every town/city, competing with every other gigantic super store, Aldi have lots and lots of smaller shops dotted about the town/city.

Because it's a smaller store, it's easier to stock and keep on top of, with less staff.

Also a much more limited selection of stuff and that stuff is almost exclusively store brands, though the store brands are quite good. (This is true in Burgerland at least)

 

[Meat Target]

Was talking to my dad about this last night. Says he read an article that a big contributor to the problem is a bottleneck at California ports. They have more ships and goods coming in than the dockyards' infrastructure can handle.

 

[Billy Beer]

Also a much more limited selection of stuff and that stuff is almost exclusively store brands, though the store brands are quite good. (This is true in Burgerland at least)

That's where they're clever. Instead of offering Heinz soup, Store brand soup and tramp-brand soup, Aldi offer one soup that is better than all three.

They've condensed the choices to the point of being the cheapest and the nicest, why would you buy a different brand?

 

[teriyakiburns]

England is pretty much there already.

Actually no. We got close, but there was never a severe fuel shortage anywhere outside the south-east. Any apparent shortages that did occur elsewhere were because of panic buyers draining fuel tanks faster than expected before a refill came along (or the actions of the retailers - the asda near me put a £30 limit on purchases, for instance, which ironically panicked people into looping the block to make multiple purchases and snarled up traffic). Everything else is a bit unpredictable, especially when it comes to fresh food, but the only thing I've noticed consistently missing is bottled water. That's anecdotal though. Other parts of the country might be having more sever problems.

Except Aldi. Aldi are never short of anything. God bless Aldi Süd.

That said, I fully expect it all to go to shit soon, because the supply chains are genuinely fucked.

 

[Phalanges Mycologist]

Also a much more limited selection of stuff and that stuff is almost exclusively store brands, though the store brands are quite good. (This is true in Burgerland at least)

That's one people don't really pay attention to the selection we are offered is mostly a illusion and the Brands are pretty much all the same when it comes to quality and product (Branston Beans are the exception and a hill I willing to die on they are the best tinned baked beans), in the UK with one exception most store brand bread (and the dought they send for Baked in Store) is all made by Allied Bakeries who also have a few brands in smaller shops.
Aldi and Liddl are kinda the opposite for that where they are going for a rock solid basic selection you can fill your cuboards with on the cheap with good quality, and they have a decent selection of seasonal items to bulk out the selection.

 

[Nate Higgers]

Anecdotal/slight PL: getting some types of basic material and parts from electrical supply houses in my area (New Mexico) has been a challenge lately. PVC is not as well stocked as it used to be. Each different supply house carries a different brand of circuit breakers (X supply carries Eaton, Y supply carries Square D, Z supply carries Siemens). I’ve had difficulty finding a simple 2 pole 30A breaker (can’t remember the make), and our project manager had to order it online- it had a shipping time of weeks.

The supply chain issue, as well as the economy fluctuating, has also led to some fuckery when it comes to buying copper wire. Supply houses don’t want to carry anything bigger than 500’ spools of #8 wire. for reference, most circuits in commercial work that span a distance smaller than 150ft and only use ~20A will call for #12. But commercial work also requires larger wire and longer spools of it for different projects (like lighting up a sports field). Supply houses don’t want to order a big ass 1000’ spool of #6 because when they order it the price of copper might be $4USD/lb, but when it arrives then they lose money if the price goes down to $3.25USD/lb. So if you need larger sized wire at longer lengths, then you have to go put in an order at the supply house, they put in an order with their supplier, and you wait a couple extra days for your wire to get to the shop.
tl;dr: I’m feelin it

College BTFO

Learn the trades boys, it's where all the shortages are right now.

Yes and no. I work as a journeyman electrician in the commercial field (USA) and while the job security is still there right now…wages in the trades and in construction overall have been stagnant for like 20 years. Sure I make $2800/mo after taxes in an area with very low COL, but that’s still poverty tier when you factor in how much prices for consumer goods have inflated in the last year and a half. I’m planning to branch out and get into something more specialized and in the industrial rather than commercial field like Instrumentation and Controls, mostly because it pays better. Not dissuading anyone from the trades but it’s not as black and white as you’d think.

 

[Kramer on the phone]

I work in a very specialized field so I will keep this very vague:

1) I work outside the US.
2) Our supply chain is horribly fucked and customers are throwing a shitfit that we can't deliver in a reasonable amount of time.

You can't blame this on covid, there is some other funny business going on.

ANTI SEMETIC

Oh and for extra special fun, the Online Aspects are so horrible and shoddily designed that I give away hundreds Dollars in Gift cards a Day for mistakes that get made by the Online Division.

we should have a separate thread for tips like that. i bet people here would make more money ordering stuff that will result in gift cards than they would streaming or gambling.

Probably the same as Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A, In 'n Out, and probably a few other middle sized independently owned companies built their own supply chains for some reason or other and treat their workers well. Truett S. Cathy was quite literally religious about treating his people right.

ANTI SEMETIC

Now that you mention it, it is like Dollar General but cleaner, better lit, and with a less depressing selection,

i know people that eat out of trash cans that couldn't eat aldi food. you're right about the square footage, a combination of the square footage, and them usually putting the whole box out on the floor instead of taking the products out saves a lot of time. most grocery stores are between 5-10x bigger than aldi, with employees assigned to departments because it would be a hassle logistically to keep track of 50 employees all running around the store with different jobs.

Why would they ever do that? They need everyone to get used to shortages so they're appreciative of their benevolent overlords when it's time to get in their wagie pod and get daily drone deliveries from the world government

exactly, unless the guys that get told they're going from working 40 a week to 14 decide to start spending what cash they have on fertilizer and go full gilded age anarchist its going to get worse.

es and no. I work as a journeyman electrician in the commercial field (USA) and while the job security is still there right now…wages in the trades and in construction overall have been stagnant for like 20 years. Sure I make $2800/mo after taxes in an area with very low COL, but that’s still poverty tier when you factor in how much prices for consumer goods have inflated in the last year and a half. I’m planning to branch out and get into something more specialized and in the industrial rather than commercial field like Instrumentation and Controls, mostly because it pays better. Not dissuading anyone from the trades but it’s not as black and white as you’d think.

thats the problem with that whole "go to trades" bullshit, they dont tell you how little you really make especially once you factor in the toll it takes on the body. i had guys in their 20s who know the best legit-massage places, thats how bad shits gotten, guys in their 20s that go to massages for body parts that aren't their dick. people make more just as a entry level cog in a white collar mega corp than a lot of these construction jobs.

 

[Nate Higgers]

thats the problem with that whole "go to trades" bullshit, they dont tell you how little you really make especially once you factor in the toll it takes on the body. i had guys in their 20s who know the best legit-massage places, thats how bad shits gotten, guys in their 20s that go to massages for body parts that aren't their dick. people make more just as a entry level cog in a white collar mega corp than a lot of these construction jobs.

(Edit: slight PL) I’m one of those guys. I didn’t have the luxury to be able to go to college to get paid $75,000/PA to fill out excel spreadsheets. My parents needed more money in the house and nobody was going to pay me to go to college. Construction was the only job I could find that would pay more than minimum wage with no credentials or licensing (I started working as an apprentice). If my home life situation was more financially stable then I probably would have been done with a bachelors degree path and working as an “office drone” getting paid $75k/yr to make PowerPoint slides and fill out excel forms.

edit #2: inb4 “why would your body be breaking down at 29 from being an electrician, I bet that shits mad easy lol”; the kind of work I do involves pulling a lot of thick gauge wire, digging a lot (we have excavators but sometimes we have to dig by hand), and we shovel more concrete and asphalt than you would think. All of that adds up after a while. Even if all the boomers say “but you’re young!”. If I could get into Instrumentation and Controls though, I wouldn’t be hauling around bags of sackrete anymore unless I had a project at home. I’d be getting a far better salary, too.

 

[Hecate]

Look who owns them. Almond farms are like vineyards. They're owned by wealthy, influential people in CA. That's why those farms don't get water restrictions but people do.

not even true my dude. farmers here have water restrictions as well, but the rich corpos always seem to have enough water for all their "high value export" crops and it's pretty simple how it works. basically water is allotted to a farmer based on his acreage, and if he knows he won't need all of that water for one plot he can use whatever might be left over for another plot. what this had turned into is large AG corpos have started buying up large swaths of farmland with more senior water rights so they can use the water allotment for that land elsewhere, and basically leave the purchased plot fallow. let me repeat this, the value of farmland right now is tied mostly to how much water you get to use from it