GHP Newsletter | January 2022

White Card: Unavailability Notice and Change of Supplier

 

Due to ongoing supply chain issues, Grosvenor House Papers is unable to obtain white card from current supplier, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

 

APP supply our most popular weights of white card, and we last received stock from the Indonesia-based manufacturer in October 2021, following an unprecedented 6-month delivery period.

 

However, after unrelenting supply chain issues—in particular skyrocketing shipping costs—they have now suspended all deliveries to the UK.

 

 

Shipping Crisis

 

Over the last 18 months, the cost of shipping a 40ft container (holding 24 tonnes of stock) from Indonesia to the UK has risen by 800%, from $2,000 to $18,000.  This equates to $750 per tonne, which is almost the cost of the product inside the container, making delivery to the UK unviable.

 

These inflated rates have primarily been caused by the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, which has led to increased demand, reduced capacity, labour shortages and rising operating costs.

 

 

Alternative EU Supplier

 

After a thorough sourcing and sampling exercise, we have identified an alternative product of equal quality, which is manufactured in Europe by one of our current suppliers.  We have an excellent relationship with this supplier, so you can rest assured that you will continue to receive a high-quality product and a reliable service.

 

The new product, however, is significantly more expensive than the white card sourced from APP and these new costs mean we will be reviewing our current prices.

 

All our current APP stock is now fully-allocated and stock of the new product is expected towards the end of February.  With this in mind, all forthcoming orders will be produced using the alternative product and supplied at your new prices.

 

I hope you understand that the contributing factors for this change are far beyond our control, and in quickly transferring supply to Europe, we will secure the availability of this high-demand product in an extremely challenging market.

 

 

Further Price Increases

 

Since 01 January 2022, we have received a number of new price increase notifications from some of our largest suppliers, including a minimum increase of 18% from one manufacturer. 

 

These new increases suggest 2022 will be just a challenging as 2021.  However, GHP is committed to working closely with its suppliers and customers to manage these challenges, promote fair and sustainable pricing, and ensure product availability for all its customers.