Building product manufacturers were among the hardest hit when long-distance supply chains found themselves challenged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic—with builders paying the price. “What we found post-COVID was that you could get blindsided with demand you weren’t anticipating … and this volatility in demand is very difficult to react to if you’re doing manufacturing outside of North America,” says Brian Humphreys, director of sales for the builder channel, Kitchen & Bath. Kohler Co. “In order to service builders better and faster, it’s important to position yourself to react to that demand quickly.”
In this BUILDER Session, Editor-in-Chief Steve Ladurantaye discusses the benefits of reshoring with Humphreys as well as Nick Buckley, director of North America faucet operations, Kitchen & Bath, at Kohler, including supply chain resiliency, job creation, and sustainability. “The pandemic exposed that we’re way too reliant on a single kind of supply coming into the U.S., and diversification is really going to benefit us going forward,” Buckley says. The discussion includes how the company’s new or expanded plants in Casa Grande, Arizona, and Monterrey and Bahia, Mexico, have greatly reduced product delivery times for builders. “You have to be able to provide the supply when it’s needed, where it’s needed, consistently,” Humphreys says.
This BUILDER Session is underwritten by Kohler Co.
