Supply shortages challenge small companies to be creative

When heavy rain pelted Central America, Shane Pliska couldn’t get shipments of taupe-colored roses he needed for clients’ weddings.

“Of course, this was the season when everyone wanted champagne-and gold-themed weddings, and the champagne part was all taupe roses,” said Pliska, owner of Planterra, a commercial florist and owner of a wedding venue where the decor is all about flowers and plants.

Pliska, whose company is located in West Bloomfield, Mich., could have substituted other flowers but wanted to deliver customers’ first choices. So he and his employees tinted white roses by hand. Supply shortages can be the bane of a small company’s existence. Severe weather and disasters can cause shortages, as can a manufacturer shutting down or stopping production of ingredients, components or raw materials. And shortages can force owners to be creative in finding substitutes or workarounds to mitigate damage to revenue and customer relationships.

Shortages can hit companies of any size. Hundreds of KFC stores in Britain had to close in February when they were unable to get shipments of chicken and other supplies. The problem started when KFC switched to a different delivery company that couldn’t handle the volume of food the company needs at its 900 British outlets.

Rob Starr had to adapt after the business that produced talc used in his pottery company’s clay had to stop making it because it contained asbestos. After a long search, Starr found another supplier for The Potting Shed with a similar talc — but it didn’t fare well in the kiln.

“Fortunately, he was a big fan of The Potting Shed and went to work on reformulating with the new talc,” said Starr, whose company is located in Saxonville, Mass.

Starr also had an extended search for a new supplier for picture frame parts. The vendor he used shut down in 2004, and Starr couldn’t find one that would make high-quality parts. He stopped producing the frames, but kept looking. Just last year, he finally found one, and has returned the frames to his product line.

Now Starr faces another shortage: A second component for his clay is no longer available. “This could turn out to be a real dilemma for us if we cannot find an alternative,” he said.