Supply Chain Director at Resino to prevent future supply shortage​

Improved supply chain planning will secure Resino in meeting the future demand of UV-inks.

Our new Supply Chain Director at Resino, Jacob Kjær Mortensen, explains that shortage of UV-inks during the summer have been answered with responsive communication both external and internal.​

 

What to do when suddenly the global market runs out of indispensable raw materials? After just a few weeks in his new position, Jacob Kjær Mortensen had to answer and indeed solve this question.

“It was challenging. The supply chain team and I had a lot of things to take care of,” said Jacob Kjær Mortensen about his hectic start at Resino. However, due to this critical situation he also got to know his new workplace very quickly, both people, organization and business.

Global market faced production black-out​

In May 2019, Resino and the entire ink industry faced one of the biggest supply crises ever seen. The Chinese suppliers were simply no longer able to deliver the necessary and scheduled amount of major raw materials, which are an indispensable material in the production of UV-inks to the food industry.

“There are only a few suppliers in the world of these materials and these suppliers are typically based in China. Back in the Spring, they had to shut down several of their factories due to factory accidents. At the same time, the Chinese authorities introduced new regulatory requirements to their production facilities. Eventually these challenges led to less production capacity,” said Jacob Kjær Mortensen and stated that it is impossible to replace these materials with other commodities.

Because of the global shortage, Resino ran out of the important raw materials at the beginning of June. Therefore, they were not able to deliver the demanded quantities of UV-inks to their customers. Furthermore, the deliveries were plagued by delays and substantial cost increases.

Stabilization of production and supply chain lead the way​

When Jacob Kjær Mortensen became employed as a Supply Chain Director, Resino were, due to the crisis, in urgent need of good solutions:

“The most important thing to do in this situation is to keep your spirit high, stay cool and report frequently about the situation to both customers, suppliers and colleagues. Finally, it is important to clearly stipulate the production plan for all parties involved.”

During the shortage of important raw materials, it is difficult to plan efficient production. However, Jacob Kjær Mortensen, was up for the challenge.

“A stabile production is essential. If we produce 10 tons of a product in week 1 and two tons in week 2, it is very difficult to plan a strategic production. Then I would rather produce 5 tons every week,” he said, adding that his overall ambition at Resino is to stabilize the entire supply chain.

Moreover, Jacob Kjær Mortensen and the management team at Resino work together to secure better contracts for their future supply of raw materials. Supplier contracts for the most critical raw materials have just recently been concluded for the rest of 2019 and 2020, which should prevent similar supply crises.

Stronger supplier of UV inks​

Now Jacob Kjær Mortensen does not need to hold his breath any longer:

“We have been able to produce and deliver our normal amount of UV-ink in august, although it is not one of our busiest months. I expect that we will be running at normal delivery deadlines in the near future,” said Jacob Kjær Mortensen.

Experienced supply chain manager​

Despite of his young age, Jacob Kjær Mortensen is experienced when it comes to optimizing production and supply chain planning. He comes from a three-year position at Nilfisk working as a Project Manager within a Corporate Supply Chain. Also, he has worked as a Project Manager with outsourcing of stock facilities. Previously, he worked at VELUX with responsibility for production strategy after a period in a position of personal assistant (PA) for the Corporate Operational Director (COO):

“I am very excited about my new job at Resino and I have already started to collaborate with my closest colleagues. Furthermore, I have joined the Management group, wherein I can contribute with know-how and experiences from other international production companies,” said Jacob Kjær Mortensen. He graduated in business leadership and specialized in supply chain management (Graduate Diploma in Business Administration – Supply Chain Management (HD)) from Copenhagen Business School.