Jan/Feb 2022
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<strong>2022</strong> Trends<br />
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR IN <strong>2022</strong><br />
Pat Rice, Commercial Director at hardware manufacturer UAP, discusses the key trends<br />
from 2021 and what lies ahead for the industry in <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
This time last year, all the talk was about<br />
adjusting to the ‘new normal’ as the<br />
construction sector braced itself for<br />
continued uncertainty in 2021.<br />
UAP’s Kinetica+ K4<br />
It’s clear now that the goal should be old<br />
normal+: business as usual with the added<br />
benefits of embracing the lessons we have<br />
learned during the pandemic.<br />
Supply chain challenges<br />
For UAP, those lessons began right at the<br />
beginning of COVID-19.<br />
Accepting weeks before the UK locked down that<br />
the issue would be global and the impact on<br />
supply chains would be immense, we invested<br />
in manufacturing products ahead of time and<br />
increased stockholding capacity.<br />
As the situation has evolved, companies across<br />
the delivery chain have continued to battle with<br />
supply challenges.<br />
It’s an issue that has followed the industry<br />
throughout 2021 and looks set to continue in<br />
<strong>2022</strong>.<br />
And, of course, because demand<br />
is outstripping supply for so many<br />
commodities – including the transport<br />
needed to get them from A to B – price rises are<br />
inherently linked to supply chain shortages too.<br />
The only way to address supply chain issues is<br />
to acknowledge them and develop a strategy to<br />
counter the difficulties.<br />
Over the past year, we have invested in our<br />
warehousing and logistics systems to translate<br />
our stockholding advantages into efficient<br />
order picking and short lead times, helping the<br />
fenestration sector to access the products they<br />
need with reliability and accountability.<br />
Customer-focused<br />
Choice and flexibility will continue to play a key<br />
role in serving customers in <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
High levels of demand look set to remain, so<br />
there is a need to be able to offer alternatives and<br />
ask the right questions about what the customer<br />
really needs.<br />
Understanding the customer’s needs is<br />
embedded in our culture at UAP, through market<br />
“The only way to address supply<br />
chain issues is to acknowledge<br />
them and develop a strategy to<br />
counter the difficulties” - Pat Rice<br />
insight, feedback from our sales team and our<br />
annual customer survey.<br />
We use that knowledge to approach our<br />
operational management with a continuous<br />
improvement mind-set, and to drive product<br />
development.<br />
It has been very clear to us at UAP that one of the<br />
outcomes of the pandemic is people’s focus on feeling<br />
safe, comfortable and secure in their own homes.<br />
48 T F JANUARY/FEBRUARY <strong>2022</strong> CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN