Important update on COVID-19 (coronavirus) planning, scheduling, and lead times
Dear Customers and Partners of Fischer Paper Products:
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fischer is continuing to adjust planning and scheduling. We want to keep our employees healthy and continue to work for as long as we are safely able, according to state and federal mandates.
To achieve those ends, Fischer is putting in place a new operating structure at the end of this week. We are adjusting our shifts and readying operations teams for scaled-back production and the likely possibility of a temporary shutdown in the future. Staff whose work is essential on site are being divided up into smaller groups to insulate them from one another and provide greater separation. Work from home is mandated for those employees that are non-essential to the production process.
We recently announced a temporary move to lead times of 8-10 weeks for custom orders, as we simply cannot predict at this time with any certainty what the coming weeks hold. Open orders for customers may extend beyond the originally promised date for the next 2-4 weeks as well, as we try to move them through the system as close to the promised date as possible. Any questions regarding the status of your order should be directed to the Fischer Customer Service Agent or other team member with whom you typically correspond regarding orders. We would also greatly appreciate any information about your shifting needs as soon as possible. While we are attempting to work directly with as many of you as we can, having the information come directly from you will help us assess which orders might be delayed without negatively impacting your business or ours.
Finally, we will be focusing on making available several key stock products that can work as fill-in for customers whose custom orders might be delayed. That also means that we will be watching our stock business closely to monitor any larger-than-usual or unusually timed purchases. While we may be able to accommodate some requests that are over-and-above, it is Fischer’s main goal to keep as many of our customers as whole as possible during this unprecedented and unsettle period. We are fortunate to have partnered with many of you for years and decades, and our chief responsibility after the care of our employees are our dedicated, long-term customers.
Communication will be key to weathering this storm. Please reach out with your questions and concerns and we’ll do our best to address them all.
We wish you good health and all our best as you adapt to this quickly changing landscape. Our actions impact others and we’re all in this together!
