the KN95 mask. What soon became apparent was that the counterfeiting of KN95 masks was widespread, and it was difficult to near-impossible for companies such as Dodge to do the due diligence required to determine if the masks would be effective. Because of this, many suppliers in both the medical and mortuary supply field chose not to handle them. We soon found out that many KN95 masks that had been sold were counterfeit and not as effective. Stuck on the Water Other issues with PPE arose as many of the major PPE manufacturers are located in Asia. First, production slowed dramatically as these countries battled their own COVID-19 crises and held back product from being exported to ensure supplies were available for themselves. After their outbreaks began to decrease, production of PPE began at full speed again, however the backlog of orders was immense. At this point, I would like to explain how ordering from a manufacturer works for a company such as Dodge that distributes these products. Especially with products that are manufactured overseas, the ordering process is complicated since transportation of the product is almost exclusively by ship. The time from the order being placed on a container ship and it arriving in the U.S. is termed “time on the water.” As most companies do, Dodge uses forecasting to determine when to order a product, and how much. “How much” is determined by the history of the product sales; “when” is determined by how long it takes for the product to arrive at our warehouses. Many of the orders Dodge makes to overseas manufacturers are done six months in advance. To say that the pandemic disrupted our forecasting would be putting it mildly. To compound the issue, as soon as companies determined the severity of the pandemic and the demand it was creating, shipping from manufacturers became even more delayed as the manufacturers dealt with the need for increased productivity. The result of all these factors was that our normal lead time to estimate delivery of products lengthened significantly from the normal 8 weeks, to 12 weeks on the water. The Takeaway The good news is that supply chains have cleared up quite a bit since late spring and the summer. Demand for pandemic-related products has dropped, and we have been able to clear almost all back-ordered products. Some manufacturers are still running at full capacity and continue to limit shipments to distributors such as Dodge. Fortunately for Dodge, we control www.ogr.org | The Independent® 19
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