Baby formula is the latest casualty of the supply chain crisis.
According to Fox News, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS have limits on how much baby formula that customers can purchase at one time. Supply chain issues had already created a shortage. In addition, Abbott Laboratories recalled some of its baby formula after two infants died, exacerbating the problem. This led many parents to stockpile formula, which hasn’t helped the situation. CNN reports that “manufacturers are producing at maximum capacity.” Abbott is hoping to resume operations at its Michigan plant, which was shut down because of the recall. In the meantime, parents are struggling to find baby formula, which is much harder to find alternatives to than toilet paper.
Why should a baby formula shortage concern business owners?
Wondering why your business should be aware of this if you don’t have babies or toddlers? This particular supply chain issue may not affect you or any of your staff. But supply chain issues are impacting every industry. We can joke about the toilet paper shortage that occurred early in the pandemic, but the shortages are stacking up. It’s no longer just pasta, but eggs, beef, pork, and more when you’re at the grocery store. Building supplies are more difficult to find. Computer chips are in short supply, impacting car repairs and offices both.
Business owners should be paying attention to items in their own industry that may be impacted by supply chain issues. While we don’t want to encourage stockpiling, it is important to keep your customers aware of potential problems. If you are seeing items that are being delivered slower than normal, find in-house solutions or workarounds. Communicate to your consumers. It might be time to make product changes or use tools that boost productivity. Maybe you need to make new relationships with other suppliers. Supply chain issues aren’t going to go away overnight. Don’t let your company’s reputation suffer because you can’t solve your customer’s problems.
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
