The Trends & Challenges Influencing Today’s Supply Chain

Although the automotive supply chain continues to rebound, many fleet operators find themselves still trying to catch-up on new vehicle orders after three-plus years of limited availability. Not only are most fleet operators working to acquire their typical annual allotment of new vehicle orders, they’re also trying to replace existing units that have remained in service much longer than originally forecast. That being said, manufacturers and upfitters simply cannot produce vehicles quickly enough to meet this pent-up demand, and while order-to-delivery times are improving, the industry isn’t out of the woods just yet.

Recently, Holman’s Brad Blanco spoke with Work Truck to offer some insight on the current landscape of the automotive supply chain and highlight the trends and challenges influencing order-to-delivery times. In the article, Brad stresses that seamless collaboration and communication with your supply chain partners is key to getting vehicles on the road as quickly as possible, particularly as new models come to market.

Brad also shares that a growing number of fleet operators are opting to standardize their upfit packages across various vocational units (where feasible) in an effort to get vehicles into service faster. He notes that while it is still important that you upfit each vehicle for its intended function, standardization can help optimize production timelines, and the simplicity allows for greater flexibility, especially if a particular vehicle model is delayed or unavailable.

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