May 12, 2023 News 3 min read

How we’re navigating supply chain issues

Let’s face it, a looming recession, combined with increasing interest rates and supply chain issues, doesn’t paint a particularly rosy picture for the building industry. And it’s at times like these when many companies collapse under the pressure. Landmark’s 45 years in the industry has seen it through tough times before, and it is well equipped to navigate the current supply chain issues.

We spoke with Landmark Homes co-founder Paul Clarke who says that, thanks to skilled management, impeccable processes and planning, and trusted long-term supplier relationships, Landmark is well positioned to manage supply chain issues.

The reality for the building industry

There’s no question that times are tricky right now for the building industry. Managing supply and pricing has always relied on expert management, but this has become exponentially harder since Covid hit, and that’s taking its toll on everyone – from homeowners to construction companies.

Even without the current supply issues, factoring the costs and time management of building a new home relies on industry knowledge and expertise. Without skilled management and an up-to-the-minute understanding of supply chain pressures, budget and time blowouts can quickly become an unwanted reality.

Landmark’s longstanding relationships

For the Landmark group, relationships have always been really important. Not only the relationships with the clients we’re building new homes for, but also further upstream. Our relationships with our suppliers have always been crucial to us and something we work hard to develop and maintain.

Landmark has very strong relationships with the principals of suppliers such as James Hardie, Placemakers, GIB, etc. Because we’ve been a very loyal customer of theirs for a very long time, we enjoy great support from them, and that’s been vital in recent times.

Keeping up the communication

In our experience, supply chain issues are generally solved by good communication. Being proactive and giving suppliers plenty of notice of what we need means we get our product delivered on time. And that makes all the difference to critical timelines.

We recognised two years ago that the numbers forecast in terms of residential construction would result in supply issues. With that knowledge, we ran a scheduling system that ensured we had processes in place to order well in advance. As a result, we are fortunate not to have suffered as much of an impact as many other building companies at the moment. And most importantly, it gives us confidence in the deliverability of our services.

Managing costs

While we can’t always control the price of materials, my philosophy has always been, “bad news early” – in other words, we address issues like cost increases as early as possible in the process so that our clients know what to expect well in advance. Clients then have provision built into the pricing to help mitigate any cost increase. If there’s anything left out of that provision, they get their money back, if there’s anything more, then at least there’s less financial impact.

If you’d like to find out more about building your new home, contact your local Landmark team today.