Are you aware that there is a worldwide shortage of photocopiers, printers and consumables?

Yes, typical equipment deliveries for commercial A4 and A3 capable photocopiers and MFP’s used to be 7 days installation from date of order and necessary deposits or lease agreements signed. You are now (February 2022) talking about approximately 6 months with promises from manufacturers saying things will improve by approx. September 2022; we are doubtful that promise is evidence based but merely a stalling tactic. Why are we in this situation though??

BREXIT the government’s spending watchdog has said ” BREXIT has made the shortages hitting the UK economy worse compared to the rest of the world” many have questioned if BREXIT has been good for the UK and with such a close vote on the matter which led the UK to leaving the European Union who is to know what the truth is. It is without doubt a fact that many European lorry and truck drivers returned to their home countries but this was for a number of reasons, some were visa issues, and others due to the COVID pandemic.

Photocopier Shortages During COVID

THE COVID PANDEMIC Ministers have repeatedly blamed a “global crisis” for empty shelves and depleted petrol stations across the country – confusing international observers who are not facing similar problems at home.

COVID is the cause of many supply problems. We have had serious supply problems from Canon UK for photocopiers, for example with new equipment supply and installs we normally quote circa 5-7 days from order placement to delivery. We experienced a 4-month wait for a machine ordered in July, with Canon displaying poor communication. Canon ignored emails and left phone calls unanswered, as seen with our most recent delivery conducted in November.

There is a worldwide supply problem for anything that uses a semi-conductor and in this technological age that is just about anything from cars to cranes to copiers and any factory machinery.
The knock on effect of this is that if suppliers cannot provide new items the 2nd hand ex-lease market becomes so much more difficult because there are no “trade-ins”.

THE SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP SHORTAGE & SUEZ BLOCKAGE

As long as we don’t have a once in a lifetime global health pandemic, a massive fire at one of the world’s largest most important Japanese semiconductor factory, and The Ever Given container ship stuck in the Suez Canal In March 2021, this event alone blocked the entire Suez Canal for six days. Remember, this wasn’t a small (no pun intended) container ship. It was the size of Ever Given, with a capacity of 20,000 TEU, and measuring 400 meters (1,300 feet) in length for those still using imperial measurements.

All of the above coinciding within a very short period of time; surely we couldn’t encounter similar circumstances and knock on effects (shortages) as bad as this one again, or could we?