BSH has apologised to its customers for the disruption they have been experiencing since the German supplier was hit by a surge in demand in the summer after lockdown restrictions were relaxed, and after it had been forced to suspend production briefly earlier in the year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement sent to KBBFocus, a spokesperson from BSH said: “We are endeavouring to resolve these delays as soon as we can and, in many areas, our lead-times are reducing. We apologise for the disruption caused and thank our trade partners for their support and patience during this time.”
However, according to one kitchen specialist, who preferred not to be named, appliances have now been delayed by five months, with no sign of them arriving any time soon. This has in turn caused enormous problems for their own business. “I am beyond livid,” they told KBBFocus. “We have been left with angry customers and no formal letter to pass on to customers on behalf of retailers.” Added to that, they said they felt that communication with the brand had been poor, with senior BSH representatives impossible to get hold of when needed, and employees restricted in what they are allowed by the company to say.
BSH acknowledged that problems started in the summer when the coronavirus restrictions were lifted across Europe. It said that this “created a surge in demand for products and the resultant pressure has severely tested supply chains across the kitchen industry, and BSH is no exception to this”.
It added: "Our manufacturing facilities introduced significant measures to maximise production and logistics capacity, whilst adhering to strict hygiene and safety guidelines to protect the health of our employees, customers and consumers. However, the prolonged pan-European demand for our products has caused extended lead-times which we appreciate will have added to the many complications in managing business during these times.
“Since July, we have been providing our trade partners with regular reports of estimated lead-times for each product to assist with their order management, which is as accurate as possible at the time of issuing.”
