As we’ve become accustomed to living during COVID-19, one thing we’ve all become familiar with is supply shortages, whether that be toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or face masks. Many other supplies have become limited as well, ranging from chicken to bandsaws.
But, in our industry, we’ve started to see longer lead times when purchasing some supplies, such as kitchen or laundry appliances, or HVAC equipment. And, we have reason to believe that as more and more manufacturing plants require physical distancing for employees and COVID testing, production may slow down even more. We don’t expect mass shortages such as we saw with cleaning supplies early on, but in some cases ordering something that we’d expect to arrive next day may arrive next week. Or the week after.
So, to be proactive, we’re going to suggest to each of you that you should take a quick but thorough inventory of your shop, and make an order of up to three months worth of these turnover and maintenance supplies. Granted, we’re not asking you to run out with a blank check, but pay particular attention to key items that you may need, such as toilet fill valves, faucets, or light fixtures, and plan to order accordingly. If you normally use one in a month, buy three. Don’t feel inclined to buy more than that at this time, nor should you triple your entire inventory, only items that are crucial or high use items. As always, there is a need to balance inventory needs with budget, but let’s be prepared to endure some longer than average wait times for parts. You should also continue to order these parts as you use them, so you should continue to have a larger than normal inventory until things get back to normal.
If you have any questions regarding how many of any particular item you should need, please contact your property supervisor or me, we’ll be happy to discuss COVID inventory levels with you.
Thank you, and stay healthy!