How Stabila Is Conquering The Global Supply Chain Crisis 

Amid a global supply chain crisis, TOOLKiT got in touch with world-renowned measuring tools manufacturer Stabila to find out how the company has been affected by the current issues and what its plans are for the near future.  

The last few months have been tough for businesses in the UK, with unprecedented supply chain disruptions bringing the worst of the issues to light. From labour shortages across all industries to post-Brexit trade barriers, global supply problems, and panic buying, there has been a panoply of contributing factors, and its effects can be seen pretty much everywhere you look. 

From delayed deliveries to soaring fuel prices and empty supermarket shelves, companies all across the globe have reported issues and TOOLKiT is on a mission to understand how the world’s leading brands are working to navigate the new international paradigm. 

First on our list is Stabila, the German manufacturer of measuring tools. With a company history dating back to 1865, Stabila is no newcomer to the market, and the company’s extensive experience has been crucial in holding it in good stead throughout the last couple of challenging years. 

We spoke to Oliver Partington, UK Sales Director, who provided TOOLKiT with a holistic view of what the past few months have been like for the company.  

1)  What are the key issues affecting Stabila’s manufacturing? 

The main issue at the moment is balancing demand with supply. The past 2 years have been a roller coaster ride… Trying to predict demand in uncertain circumstances has been a challenge, particularly when we have to balance this with global supply chain constraints.  

  

2) How is Stabila overcoming this?  

Resource supply has obviously been a challenge. Our supply chain and logistics team have put in a huge amount of effort to ensure we have the resources we need to manufacture, and we continue to invest in our infrastructure, with the expansion of our main manufacturing site in Germany in 2020 giving us more flexibility to manufacture as much as possible in Europe, reducing our risks on overseas logistics.  

But the important thing to Stabila as we learn to navigate the unknown of the past 2 years has been collaboration, understanding and trust with our partners across the supply chain. The more we work together, the better we can cope on the roller coaster and anticipate the twists and turns that lie ahead.  

  

3) With a marketplace that thrives on innovation, how is the current global situation affecting this?  

I think the current situation is helping innovation – customer needs are changing as we learn to adapt to a changing marketplace. But this is not just innovation in physical products, but in logistics, customer experience and digitalisation as well. A live example for us was launching our online training campus, to give tradespeople access to high-quality training without the need for face-to-face interaction.  

  

4) What is your outlook for the next 5 years?  

Despite the ups and downs over the past 2 years, there is still a positive outlook for the hand tools market in the UK. Aligned to many market forecasts, we see strong growth potential from 2020 to 2025.  

  

5) Going back to innovation, what is on the cards for the next 10 years of innovation for pro users to look forward to?  

That would be telling, although we have some exciting launches to watch out for over the next 18 months!  

Innovation is a cornerstone of our product ranges – our aim is and always will be around saving trade users time and money on the job, through accurate, robust and user-friendly measurement tools. Expect more of the same from our plans over the coming years.