Dear Colleague,

I hope this letter finds you well. Our team continues to actively monitor the ongoing supply chain disruptions and we would like to share with you some of the latest trends.

Positive Impact of Shipping Trends

 

• Biomed and Beds/Tables are the categories our supplier partners are experiencing the biggest impact on backlogged items, representing approximately 30% of backlogged replacement parts across more than 100 suppliers.
  • On a related note, Russia is a major producer of nickel, chrome, and steel and the war in Ukraine is exacerbating the medical grade stainless steel shortages.
• Plastics shortages are also impacting this modality, among others. In the US, plastic production was slowed (almost to a halt) in 2021 due to intense storms that damaged oil refineries in Texas. There has been a general tightening global supply of resin, one of the raw materials used to make plastic products.
• Battery components, especially lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, continue to face a slowdown in production and represent the largest backlog area that our supplier partners are facing in the Patient Monitoring modality.
• PartsSource is taking an active role to address these challenges for our customers.
  • ​​​​​Our Supply Chain team is having regular conversations on active backorders and how to minimize them.
  • Operations is conducting frequent order follow-ups to get the most up-to-date information on ship dates.

 

Please visit our supply chain resource center for updates and useful information. As always, if you have any questions or feedback regarding these updates, feel free to reach out to me.

Warm regards,

Erin Tournoux
Sr. Vice President, Operations