Lead times in 2020 explained

Why can't I get one of these? Firstly, just to be clear, we are talking about Bespoke cartons not stock cartons. Westmount is stocked to supply our usual plain cartons throughout the rest of 2020 and into 2021. If you wish to look into bespoke cartons read on. We can sometimes supply bespoke printed cartons on 2-3 weeks lead times depending on the quantity and size of the carton - enquire here. Sometimes, it's just so frustrating that you wish you had asked one supplier to stock these for you, that were reliable so you don't run out. Or you may wish you never had the hassle of dealing with suppliers that don't communicate. Hopefully the few points below will help explain why, that in the 21st Century, year 2020, it's becoming harder to get cardboard to make Bespoke boxes (or cartons as we like to call them). Basics - principles behind manufacturing Manufacturing cardboard cartons isn't as easy as you think. You need paper, the corrugated to go in-between the paper and the glue (or staples depending on what you want to use). All these products can be sourced in the UK, but would normally be imported from overseas. Then you have to get the die or stereo (depending on what carton you wish to make). These can cost ?150 upwards to ?2000 - why? They all have to be specially made for your bespoke sized cartons, and if they are also printed, that's an extra cost as you need the paint. Once all that is in place, and you have the plain brown/white boards of cardboard, you can start to manufacture them by the 1000s. Finally they get shipped to you the customer. So, why can't that be done today? There's two or three key things that have caused the cardboard supply chain to buckle this year and cause massive disruption to many companies across the UK. As we all now know, lead times for new cardboard cartons are somewhere between January and February 2021. There are a few companies that can make certain sized cartons faster, but not many. 1. It's during a Pandemic, and companies are busier than ever with online sales, requiring more bespoke sized cartons, maybe printed as well, that cost a lot to make and take a long time. 2. Amazon UK have reserved 10s of 1000s of square meters of cardboard to make cartons for the vaccine that we all hope is fast approaching. This has caused a massive hole to appear in the UK supply of cardboard and even though Amazon aren't using that cardboard (yet) they have reserved it solely for the use of vaccines, and no one else can touch it. 3. It's that time of year again - Christmas time. Yes, again increased volumes of online sales and Xmas shopping demand more packaging, and therefore more companies need bespoke sized cartons and more stock cartons, increasing lead times. 4. Brexit and the smaller workforce at the docks due to Social distancing is causing longer wait times for containers to reach their end destination. With the average turn around times for a container in port being 1-2 weeks, cardboard booked for certain dates is taking a lot longer to come in, disrupting supply and production. So be wary if you're ordering in from overseas via container! What can I do to make sure I don't end up in this situation? When it comes to the crunch point, you want your supplier to be worrying about your packaging, not yourself. So we recommend looking into Stock and Serve with us, whereby we stock your cartons, palletwrap, tape and whatever else you may require here and make sure that you never run out. It's a free service for us to hold your stock and you simply call it off as and when you need it. Also, we have secured a new supplier in Europe which can supply larger quantities of Bespoke cartons on 2-3 week lead times. Minimum order is 3200 square meters which equates to around 3500 boxes.

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