How The Pandemic Changed Jan/San Distribution

There are events that will shape a generation — the Great Depression, a war, 9/11, a recession or even a pandemic. These events don't just impact personal lives; they can put a significant dent in the way that business is done, and can bring about permanent change in a mere instant.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the jan/san industry in countless ways. Initially, it halted the supply chain, which has yet to fully recover. It has affected pricing and slowed an already shrinking labor pool. But it has also brought about many opportunities in the form of emerging technologies and diversified services. To put it simply, the pandemic has forced jan/san distributors to adjust the way they do business.

To review what's next in terms of industry trends, current challenges and strategies for future success, Sanitary Maintenance tapped into professionals on the Editorial Advisory Board. These experts offer perspective and advice, as well as a glimpse of what they see as the future of jan/san distribution.

The pandemic affected every person and every business differently. How has COVID-19 changed your business operations?

Spallone: With any significant event, you have clear indicators delineating what it was like before and then after. The pandemic and 9/11 are both examples of this. For us, the pandemic has driven home the importance of cross-training and having an employment bench ready for what could lie ahead. It also helped us embrace technology and drastically improve our communication with team members, vendors and customers.

Finally, throughout the first three months of 2020, we had multiple meetings with our leadership team, game planning, and setting up different strategies that we put in place. We embraced complete flexibility and creativity in every aspect of our business. We didn't say no to any opportunity and worked to find a way to make it happen.

Reuben: Covid-19 has changed our operations in many ways. First, we developed new allocation systems to make sure that our customers were securing scarce product in a fair manner. We have also added staff and developed more focused processes to expedite incoming deliveries from supplier partners. Our category managers have used their creativity to develop new sources and even new combination of products to solve problems for customers when traditional product was scarce. Finally, we have developed new communication feedback loops so that our customers, salesforce, and internal staff are securing more just-in-time information regarding issues and solutions for our customers.

Grego: During the height of the pandemic, distributors lost most of their consumables business and picked up more business in hand sanitizers, personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectants and sprayers. Those who sourced properly and pivoted to new technologies fared quite well. Those who didn't are now struggling to keep their doors open.

From a business perspective, was there anything positive that came from the challenges since 2020?

Grego: We saw a remarkable shift away from traditional disinfectants that contain quaternary ammonium to safer, more nontoxic alternatives like hypochlorous. Application migrated to misters and sprayers, and in some cases, drones. Now everyone is talking about air purification and there are several types available.

The difficult part to taking on a new product line is doing your due diligence and learning about the technology and studying every type available in order to make an informed decision. Everyone believes theirs is the best, but you have to determine what's best for your customers and your organization.

Reuben: We definitely developed new processes to serve our customers better, from communication to logistics. Culturally, this crisis brought our company together, with everyone from executives to sales and internal staff working together to try and solve our customers issues.

What are some of the supply chain issues you've faced recently and how are you overcoming them?

Reuben: Domestic manufacturers are narrowing their lines, extending lead times, prioritizing their customers and just plain limiting their production because of their challenges in securing labor, material and outside services. We communicate weekly in a detailed newsletter to our sales and customer service staff about these changes and challenges, in addition to having live virtual meetings with our supply chain and internal staff regarding the supply chain environment. We encourage everyone at EBP to have an entrepreneurial spirit and develop new solutions where certain product cannot be obtained.

Grego: After the panic-buying subsided, we were faced with customers having an abundance of hand sanitizer, PPE and disinfectant, so that business practically dried up for a while. Distributors were then stuck with overpriced inventory. Now the shortages have moved to other categories, such as equipment, batteries, microchips, etc. Many of the raw materials necessary to make almost all cleaning chemicals are difficult to get.

Prices have increased anywhere from 10 percent to 600 percent in some cases, depending on the item. There's a shortage of truck drivers so the cost of freight has more than tripled, and many deliveries are arriving damaged. That means, even after very long lead times, the customers may not receive what they expected due to damages.

The best way to handle this is through communication, from the time the order is placed until the time it hits their dock. Keep people informed to mitigate angry responses.

Spallone: The supply chain issues are just a continuation of the pandemic. We have continued to be flexible, and we have embraced that not all our partners view us as mutual benefactors. As we work through this, we will undoubtedly adjust who those partners are going forward.

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