Staying Afloat Amidst Logistical Hurdles: A Supplier's Journey

This communication has been on our mind for a while. We’ve been delaying getting in touch, because we were hoping to provide you with better news. However, the time has come to tell it like it is.

Dreamland is facing a major logistical challenge at the moment. Our incoming goods are up to four weeks behind, due to the situation at Ports of Auckland.

The port has ditched their automation plans and reverted to manual operation. This might have been fine, but they also have a severe lack of staff. Thousands of businesses have been impacted by the port’s delays. A week ago I noticed there were eight container vessels at anchor off the North Shore, waiting to get into the port. Some vessels are waiting up to two weeks to have containers discharged.

The Port of Tauranga is in a similar position. They are struggling to process vessels and despatch containers. Their big hold-up is the movement of containers by rail from Tauranga to Metroport Auckland.

Our inventory is looking skinnier
We’re proud of our 93%+ fill rate, which has been maintained for many years. But right now our fill rate has dipped to 86%. With the exception of 2020, year one of Covid, our inventory has never been this slim.

Apologies for the inconvenience
We have seven containers due in November and at least another five due in December. We also have weekly shipments arriving to fulfil our backorders. Although we’ve made adjustments to our ordering, we’ll be playing catch-up for the rest of the year. Please accept our apologies for this situation, which is a huge inconvenience to you and your customers.