Updates From Our MD - Sam Gompels

By Gompels Healthcare On 29 Nov 2021

The supply chain has experienced more shocks and stress in the last 12 months than at any time in the last 20 years. It is incredible how events can bunch up and deliver right, left, right, left punches, perfectly timed and one after the other.

Just when we thought manufacturing would catch up and container prices would come down, Russia delivers the next blow with record energy prices and price inflation that is beyond a sane man's comprehension.

To give you an example, from our European-based tissue supplier, we received a letter stating that from the 15th March we either accepted a 20% price rise or they would shut the papermill and cease production. Whilst our initial reaction is anger, the next day, another tissue supplier sent an email imposing a 22% rise. Sadly, they are not making it up. Tissue manufacture requires a huge amount of gas to dry a slurry of fibers into a layer of beautiful absorbent tissue. That gas has gone up in 6 months from 50p per therm to well over 300p per therm. At Gompels we are always transparent with our customers so you can read a copy of the letters below.

Letter 1 

Letter 2

Our job is to keep you supplied day in day out with all the products that you need. We will do that at the lowest possible price and when we can drop prices we will. That is what we have done since 1967 and will keep doing. In April, the price of aprons and gloves once again dropped because we are able to buy the stock at a lower price and have passed that saving on to you. We want you to stick with us for the long term which means keeping prices for quality products as low as possible.

In Others News
March saw the release of some brand new offers across all categories. For nurseries, we've got some fantastic special offers on Sun Cream, whilst for Care there are new lower prices on PPE and great deals on Infection Control and First Aid.

We've got an exciting new range in the pipeline for those who are looking for eco-alternatives. We don't want to give too much away at the moment but the plastic savings will be astronomical and the pricing will be ultra-competitive if not better than before! 

For those who love our online training stay tuned for the release of some new nursery videos with our brand new trainer. Now COVID restrictions have been dropped and the world becomes more comfortable with returning to the office, it's about time we got the balling rolling. All being well we should have some new content over the next few months.

Lockdowns In China
While it seems we've made it through the worst of COVID here in the UK, China is facing unprecedented outbreaks. Hopefully, things will remain under control and we can ensure timely shipments of goods and keep our stock levels high.

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• Shenzhen warehouses are currently closed for a week for loading/unloading. Guangzhou can be used as an alternative route until the warehouses re-open
• Hong Kong- open and running as normal, however with COVID numbers rising, operations will be monitored
• Shanghai/Ningbo/Xiamen - open and running as normal
• Tianjin/Quingdao - open and running as normal