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Small businesses face obstacles from ongoing supply chain issues

The owners of a Temple restaurant have been forced to adapt to the market. Experts say the economy is going to have to make changes for things to get better.

TEMPLE, Texas — For months some of our favorite products have been missing from shelves, construction projects are delayed and prices are higher on just about everything.

You have the supply chain to thank for that. 

But, the question still remains, will things ever get better?

Nicole Katsikides is a research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and she says the supply chain and the economy will even out eventually but it's going to take some advancement in technology and changes to how companies and businesses manufacture products.

"Bringing things back to the U.S. or having a diversity of manufacturing, such that it's not all in one country," she explained. "It may come from several different countries so that you aren't at risk if there's a problem with that particular supply chain."

In the uncertain market and economy, small business owners like Julio Zavala and his fusion restaurant are being forced to adapt to the times.

"It's a real big challenge over the last few months," the Temple restaurant owner added.

The supply chain issues are forcing business owners to make changes they didn't plan to.

Zavala, the co-owner of MexiKo Cafe, says the bigger, corporate companies have more resources to try and get ahead of any low stock or delayed products which causes problems for business plans like his.

"For a small mom and pop shop like ourselves, it becomes difficult to either hunt down or if we can't find it," he explained. "Again, it's going to be at an inflated price and therefore we then have to choose of not having it at all, which then cuts into our sales and profits."

Zavala says they have to decided whether to not have a product or sell it for very little margin or sometimes even for a loss. He says different products are hard to come by and it varies from week to week. Right now, they're seeing issues with paper goods, products they use for to-go sales.

There are many elements that effect the supply chain issues like a shortage of merchandise, imports being behind on schedule and not enough truck drivers to make deliveries.

"There's probably not enough trucks right now to deal with the volume that they have," Katsikides explained about the products at ports and shipping yards.

She says transportation is playing a role in the supply chain issues but it's not the driving problem.

"There's labor shortages, labor challenges, people are changing their jobs," Katsikides said. "It's also harder to get some of the ingredients and the raw products in order to manufacture the products. There had been some manufacturing shutdowns."

But small business owners like Zavala hope consumers and the business world will adapt more. He says it's the only way to make things a little easier.

"We kind of have to meet halfway as a business and then as a consumer to kind of understand that that's where the playing field is now," Zavala added.

It's a tough balancing act businesses are facing right. From manufactures, to corporate companies, small business, to the consumer and it's going to take some patience Zavala and Katsikides explains.

   

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