KMD Brands has leveraged its entire portfolio of brands to navigate the ongoing supply chain crisis.
In the company’s integrated annual report, group general manager for supply chain Dianne Fuller said collaboration across Kathmandu, Oboz and Rip Curl helped drive efficiencies across the business.
When a nearly three-month closure of Oboz factories in Vietnam took place in FY22, Kathmandu tapped its relationships in the market to secure storage for stock.
Meanwhile, Rip Curl was able to secure its freight forwarding partner to shift Kathmandu deliveries into Canada.
Fuller said shipping delays have been the biggest challenge during FY22, with some Kathmandu distribution centres processing almost double their equipped container deliveries and freight costs increasing by up to 600%.
“It was a significant juggling act to get product to store for launching on time,” Fuller confirmed. “It was our amazing people across planning, merchandising and distribution, that used their problem solving skills and their relationships with suppliers to miraculously deliver 84% of stock on time for Kathmandu stores.”
Oboz supply chain and demand planning manager John Nehring said while 300,000 Oboz customer orders were delayed as a result of COVID-19 closures, the brand has now accelerated plans to onboard additional factory partners.
“We’re proud of the fact that despite the delays, we were able to make sure we didn’t cancel any orders with our already hard-hit suppliers,” he noted in KMD Brands’ integrated annual report.
The Group is expecting supply chain conditions to improve and buying timelines to normalise in FY23.