Material Shortage – How formary as a platform can support the availability of plastic workpiece carriers

Since the beginning of 2020, we have been experiencing global supply shortages that are also affecting the plastic industry. Initially, these were caused by disrupted supply chains and an increased demand for plastics from various industries, such as the food and medical sectors, due to the COVID-19 crisis. Now, the war in Ukraine, driven by Putin's invasion, has further driven energy prices to record highs. This affects both plastic production and the energy-intensive recycling of plastics. As a result, there is unfortunately a widespread material shortage.

How does the material shortage affect everyday production?

The tense situation in the procurement of raw materials and semi-finished products means that certain types of plastic can only be purchased at daily prices. In some cases, ordered plastic films must be bought without a price guarantee at the price valid on the delivery day. Additionally, availability and delivery times may fluctuate and be much longer than usual. As a result, the thermoforming industry is joining other major German industries—currently, more than 80% of companies are facing shortages in the procurement of semi-finished products and raw materials.

These challenges are being faced by all manufacturers in the thermoforming industry, affecting everything from thermoformed trays and packaging blisters to technical parts such as covers and enclosures. At formary, while we cannot predict how the situation will develop, we can actively counter market risks and reduce your efforts as a platform.

formary offers a wide network of suppliers – benefit from this during material shortages

The extensive formary network of manufacturers for thermoformed plastic parts helps in many areas of sourcing your thermoformed trays and plastic products. This includes:

Diversification

Many companies have been counteracting dependencies and supply failures for some time by building secondary sources and alternative suppliers. This diversification and distribution of your projects across multiple suppliers is automatically handled by formary’s supplier network for every new project request. Learn how manufacturers and customers alike benefit from diversification in our blog post on Asset Sharing or in our webinar by the same name.

Flexibility

formary knows the capacities of the network and can respond flexibly. You don’t have to figure out which supplier in Germany currently has which material group in stock or who can quickly deliver due to machine overcapacity. formary offers a wide range of materials for various applications.

Reduced effort

Times like these present employees responsible for sourcing products with new and diverse challenges every day. This takes time. formary reduces your effort with fast calculations and responses, minimal ordering effort, and reliable processing. Learn more in our blog post "5 Reasons Why You Should Order Your Thermoformed Parts from formary" or in our on-demand webinar "Efficient Sourcing of Thermoformed Plastic Parts."

Counteracting the material shortage with the formary configurator

With the formary configurator, you can specify annual quantities for your configurations. This allows us to assess your needs as accurately as possible and plan material availability.

Now, request your thermoformed part directly online!