Covid 19, Brexit, Pent-Up Demand, World Wide Distribution Issues = The Perfect Storm for Extended Lead-times
For a number of months now, you may have seen in recent news across the UK, there has been an increase in demand for timber and other materials. The BBC have reported a lot on this, please refer to the following links for further information:
Timber shortage due to ‘unprecedented’ post-lockdown demand – BBC
Building projects hit by lack of supplies and price rises – BBC
The play industry is no different! Due to a number of factors ranging from Brexit to COVID-19 and wild fires to distribution issues, many companies have increased their lead-time due to the lack of resource and materials, some for even up to 6 months…
For a number of reasons, we are fortunate enough to be able to offer our customers an approximate 12 weeks lead-time* for their new playground. Read below to see how we have made this possible!
#WhyWait For Your Playground
There are 3 main reasons you don’t have to wait for your playground with Creative Play…
1. UK Manufacturer, UK Materials
We manufacture 95% of our playground equipment right here at our factories is Chester PLUS… 98% of our materials are sourced in the UK! This allows us to not only manage the quality of manufacture, but we don’t rely on third parties or have the risk of importing delays!
Supporting UK suppliers has many benefits and this timber shortage highlights one of them! #MadeInBritain
2. Supplier Relationships
After trading for 30 years, did you know, we have used the same timber supplier for 25 of those years! Building great supplier relationships is important to us and our carefully established supply chain ensures we have all the materials required to deliver your playground.
3. We Don’t Rely On Third Parties
Having our own factories and timber yard allows us to have large stockholding of key components and materials to construct your new playground.
In addition to this, we have our very own delivery vehicles with offload facilities which means we have no driver shortages affecting distribution.
The Proof Is In The Pudding!
The impact the shortage of resources and materials has created within the industry, has had very little impact on the running of Creative Play as told by Ashgate Croft Primary School in Chesterfield:
“From the initial contact with the company to the visit of the sales person through to the final product, everyone involved has been consistent, easy to communicate with, listened to the needs of our children and very professional.
The playground has been finished to the highest quality and the children love it! All of the equipment is of the highest standard and the flooring is immaculate (wet pour).
The project was finished much earlier than expected to the delight of our children. We would strongly recommend Creative Play to all.”