Experts highlight Rangers FC supply chain blunders and warn importers of ongoing potential for disruption

THE GLASGOW club is renovating its Copland Road stand but work is severely delayed, meaning the club does not expect to play ‘at home’ until late September at the earliest.

The club is still waiting on steel shipments from the Far East to finish the stadium upgrades, with frustration mounting in Govan.

Rangers FC released a video statement on July 29 to explain the delay to supporters.

Rangers FC chairman John Bennett said: “We wanted to provide certainty that we couldn’t deliver. What we are dealing with is a materials delay mid shipment. We had three consignments on three vessels. The pinch points are the ports, with Singapore probably the biggest. 

“The first vessel has arrived in Glasgow and the club is waiting on the second and third vessels. Upon delivery of the second consignment, the club is able to begin the final phase of the construction project.

“As things stand, subject to further slippage, the second consignment is scheduled to arrive in Glasgow in the second week of August. 

“Shipment three is scheduled to arrive, as things stand, in the third week of August.

Our aspiration for the completion of the project and the re-opening of the stadium for games is the end of September. It could slip beyond that.

“We had been given written and verbal assurances that shipments were on time, but found out in June that this was not the case.”

Beacon co-founder and CEO Fraser Robinson, told Logistics Matters: “Transportation lead times provided by shipping companies should not be taken as fact; they are merely assumptions. With disruptions becoming increasingly frequent, supply planning must adapt to this reality.

“Incorporating a lead time buffer into Rangers FC planning could have helped to mitigate this issue. While supply chain disruptions and their impacts can't be entirely avoided, the effects can be managed with real-time visibility. The sooner you become aware of delays or disruptions, the sooner you can take action to control the fallout.”

Blue Yonder senior industry strategies director EMEA Roy Bridgland, added: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we have seen signs of a trend towards re-shoring or near-shoring for time sensitive shipments where there is far less risk of significant disruptions to delivery lead times.”

Roy also highlighted the utility of advanced software systems that allow shippers to ‘expedite shipments or consider alternate suppliers for sourcing’.

project44 senior product manager Tamal Dutta, said: “Companies should avoid relying on verbal commitments with their suppliers. When working to strict timelines, having a detailed contract with clear deadlines and penalties in place is advisable.

“The impact of this congestion in Singapore provides a clear call to action for shippers to enhance end-to-end supply chain visibility.”

“If we have learnt anything in the past few years, it’s that businesses should plan for disruption,” explains SCALA executive director Chris Clowes.

“Companies should diversify their supplier base, consider reshoring partnerships where appropriate and ensure materials are ordered in plenty of time to account for potential delays.

“Maintaining transparency about any delays and what is being done to rectify the issue is crucial to building customer trust and loyalty.”

Fluent Cargo CEO Archival Garcia questioned the information Rangers FC used to plan the work.

“To avoid damaging delays such as those being felt by Rangers FC, organisations need to move away from relying on third-party service providers who are dealing with inaccurate schedules and fluctuating capacities from carriers. Carriers themselves are facing new issues every day which affect their ability to deliver.

“While I agree with the notion of better planning, I would start by questioning the information that Rangers are using to plan. It's important to challenge the supply chain and look at the destination location backwards, targeting a time for arrival rather than departure. 

“Organisations need to go all the way back to the supplier and understand the risks they carry to assess if it presents a risk for shipments and ensure a tight collaboration between the procurement and the supply chain team.”

So, what lessons can UK importers learn from this incident?

Garcia continued: “This incident isn't actually an outlier. Long delays with huge impacts are standard now in the world of supply chain with reliability and cost back to pandemic levels. Disruptions are the new normal, so UK importers need to factor these issues into their planning and risk mitigation. Importers will need to be more 'hands on' with their shipments to better control their supply chain.”