Business engines locally are starting to rev again, with the ongoing fall of COVID numbers and a faint sense of normalcy dawning. The pandemic was particularly hard on manufacturing, playing havoc with supply-chain operations, reported Gene Marks for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Current sluggishness in moving inventory persists; however, some supply-chain issues predated the March 2020 plug-pull on American industry. 

A 2021 study from logistics consulting firm GEP Worldwide showed several factors slowing down the goods-to-market progression. They included: 

• Cyber attacks 
• Commodity prices 
• Tougher environmental regulations 
• Trade disputes 

“The problem is massive and truly global,” says Brian Glick, the founder and owner of Chain.io, a Philadelphia-based supply chain technology provider. 

“Every region of the world is impacted, and large businesses are just as impacted as small ones,” he assessed. 

Mike Trapp is general manager of Griff Paper and Film, a manufacturer in Fallsington, Bucks County. His solution to supply-chain delays? Plenty of communication. 

“We are reaching out to [our top customers], letting them know of our lead times,” Trapp said. “Our goal is to be completely transparent.” 

He is also on top of his customer service team to ensure they diligently update the largest customers with the current status of deliverables. 

More on how businesses are addressing supply-chain issues is in The Philadelphia Inquirer.