Episode #30
How Supply Chains Affect Material Prices
Why can the cost of a landscaping project look completely different six months after you first started planning it? It isn’t always as simple as a business putting its prices up. In Episode 30 of Paving the Way, Amy and Andy get into some of the less visible costs behind paving, landscaping and construction – and how everything from shipping rates and fuel prices to haulage and wider world events can eventually affect the price a customer sees. They look at the journey imported materials take before they ever reach a garden, why heavy products such as paving are particularly affected by shipping costs, and what happens when the price of moving a container changes dramatically in a relatively short period of time. There’s also the wider picture. Fuel affects deliveries. Machinery costs money to run. Vehicles, insurance and day-to-day business costs change. And when those increases work their way through the supply chain, landscapers and other professionals may have little choice but to adjust what they charge. Amy and Andy also discuss the difficult decisions businesses have to make when prices are moving quickly – including whether to hold stock, when increases can realistically be absorbed and why being open with customers about what has changed is so important. And because the conversation gets slightly heavy, there are also pirates, some questionable jokes for five-year-olds and a brief attempt to work out what happens when you cross a brown chicken with a brown cow. In this episode: • Why shipping has such a big impact on paving prices • How imported materials move through the supply chain • Why heavy products are particularly affected by freight costs • How fuel, haulage and other business costs affect a landscaping quote • Why a quote from six months ago might not reflect today’s costs • The challenge businesses face when prices rise and fall quickly • Why communication with customers matters when costs change • How wider world events can eventually affect a garden project If you enjoy Paving the Way, follow or subscribe wherever you listen, and share the episode with someone planning a landscaping or home improvement project.
