Facing different challenges every day, school districts and teachers across the country are struggling to provide essential tools for students to focus and learn successfully. Connection and communication in ever evolving learning environments continue to be top of mind. Whether in the classroom, remote or hybrid learning, audio solutions such as headphones and headsets are critical in connecting students to educators, to technology and multiple forms of content, all of which are essential to their educational and developmental success.
As reported in our July feature article, during this extraordinary time in education, AVID Products is proud to have connected millions of students and educators with our award-winning audio solutions. Enabled by our focused portfolio, streamlined supply chain network design, advanced analytics, business intelligence capabilities and decades of logistics experience, AVID continues to provide critical and timely support to schools and families whenever and wherever they may need us. We ensure our product availability by taking a crucial and intelligent inventory position on our most called for audio products even as global supply chain issues persist.
AVID is ready and waiting to serve customers as the challenge of global supply chain disruption continues
Disruption of the shipping pipeline that brings $1trillion worth of goods from Asia to the United States each year has had many companies scrambling for almost 2 years. The COVID-19 pandemic, which arrived on top of preceding but still present waves of disruption from global trade wars, BREXIT uncertainty, new environmental standards of IMO2020 and the signs of a weakening global economy, caused unprecedented trauma and unimagined levels of uncertainty.
For a few months, as the world went into lockdown and demand for many goods plummeted, manufacturing and logistics capacities were cut. When the global economic machine came back up and running in the summer of 2020, fundamental cracks in the supply chain started to emerge. Restarting manufacturing and logistics after lockdown proved to be quite difficult. The complex system that moves goods around the world requires predictability and precision. Both had been lost.
The resulting impacts of delay, exorbitant costs and uncertainty persist to this day. For example, in September 2021, the average cost to ship a standard container from China to the West Coast of the United States was almost 10x that of pre-COVID rates. At the port of Los Angeles, which is expected to handle 10.8M containers this year alone, there are more than 70 container ships waiting to dock. What’s more, human challenges are as significant as the logistical ones. Leading companies have accelerated training of new workers and have vowed to hire drivers and more to help deal with the overflow.
AVID continues to adapt, scale, and sustain to provide support
Throughout these extraordinary times, AVID Products has leveraged our adaptable business operating model to thrive and to serve. Driven by our purpose “to enhance life’s experiences” and mindful of the circumstances and needs of the customers we serve, AVID Products has provisioned supply and have fulfilled demand in all ways possible, whenever and wherever, the educators, students, schools and families may need us.
As a 90% remote company, the employee-owners at AVID understand even more how audio solutions help reinforce communication in virtual workplaces and schools. From our homes in apartments and houses, and in cities and on farms, we depend on devices and systems to do our jobs every day. Listening to the needs of our customers and remaining mindful of the high rate and variety of disruption in current shipping logistics, AVID continues to find ways to enhance our abilities and remain reliable. We adapt, scale and sustain in this digital domain and we strive to ensure the success of future generations of students of all ages.
