Stores are open, but vendors face longer payment terms and financial uncertainty.
By: Ben Unglesbee
The retail supply chain, like the retail industry itself, has gone through a dramatic period of stress since March 2020.
The early months of the COVID-19 crisis brought ubiquitous order cancellations. Almost as pervasive were retailers' efforts to push out payments for shipments. In turn the cash flow crisis in retail hit suppliers just as hard. Businesses furloughed employees, negotiated with landlords and other vendors, and wondered if they would be able to stay in business, just as retailers did.
By summer stores had reopened in most areas and orders were coming in — which is crucial for both retailers and vendors — but suppliers' financial woes persisted.