Airport Experience® News - Conference 2023

There also are airports that require them. Though many have become more flexible in enforcement during shortages, Westlye says High Flying Foods also has tried to diversify its supply chain to deal with that and other areas of concern. “Where before the pandemic, before the supply chain problem, we may have trusted one purveyor to provide us with our compostables, now we probably have three purveyors for that supply,” he says. High Flying Foods has also increased inventory, now keeping up to five times or more product on hand than in the past. “There has been a major management behavior change to address the change in the marketplace,” Westlye says. Roddy McOwan, chief development officer at Marshall Retail Group/InMotion Entertainment , says a mix of factors

affecting supply chain are still inconsistent. Import lead times have increased and vary significantly, turnaround time on vessels at docks can be between a week and 10 days, factories in China are still in flux due to COVID and vendors are less willing to negotiate on price. However, he adds, port congestion has mostly subsided, available stock and production turnaround has improved and ocean freight container costs have declined. Paradies Lagardère has worked hard with its associates to improve the anticipation of needs, the ordering of supplies early and reengineering the approach the company takes to various products. The company committed last year to a multi-pronged approach, says Chief Financial Officer John Jamison, that includes sourcing comparable products

when certain items aren’t available, better anticipation of needs and trends, adjusting the timing and size of inventory and the shifting of supply sources from import to domestic, where possible. “The challenges with supply chain aren’t as significant or as widespread as they were a year ago, but certainly still exist,” says Jamison, adding the company is thankful for the efforts of its front-line workers. “These efforts have helped manage the challenges with supply chain and we are pleased with the progress.” Paula Lopez, director of supply chain and merchandise at Areas USA , says logistics have improved considerably over 2022. That’s not to say it’s perfect – there always will be supply chain challenges, she says – but the issues now are more of the normal variety. “We still have orders that are delivered two days after the scheduled delivery date,” she says. “But we are seeing those less and less. Now we are in a moment where we are able to go back to our distributors and put more of a target on what we are expecting. So, in that sense, on the distribution side, I think we are getting a little bit more control.” That’s important, Lopez says, because while Areas and others used more vendors over the last couple years to best ensure they got the necessary product, it’s harder to do that in airports with security badging necessities. So, the company uses local vendors for some products but a main one where possible. “We try to consolidate as much as we can, but there are certain categories, …like fresh bakery goods. If it’s good quality, I’d rather use the local vendor, a small vendor for that,” she says. The supply chain is going to be a daily factor in airport operations, particularly for those undergoing major projects that require heavy equipment, says Andy Weddig, executive director of the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association. The impact on concessions, Weddig says, is less on day-to-day operating and more on “Am I going to be able to open my location at the new facility on time?” At one location, he heard from a member,

Left: Sarah Imberman, owner of this Sarah’s Candies store at Midway International Airport, is “hoping for the best” heading into 2023 but also preparing for the worst.

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