Written by on September 2, 2021

Inside JL Marine at Power-Pole – September

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Power-Pole Supply Chain Hardships – The Good, The Bad and The Plan

At JL Marine, we take pride in giving our customers the best experience possible. A big part of that experience includes building and delivering high-quality fishing products in a timely manner. The past year delivered the perfect storm of challenges including navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, severely disrupted supply chains, and a massive, industry-wide increase in demand. This unique combination of challenges has made it very difficult to provide our customers with products as quickly as they are used to.

However, Power-Pole is not the kind to back down from a challenge and is actively exploring solutions to the unique circumstances we are facing. In response to these challenges, we have been ramping up our production as much as possible by hiring more personnel, expanding our supply chain options, and building more products than ever in the history of JL Marine. Our goal is to get back to our gold standard of same-day shipping for all our customers’ orders. 

To date, we have increased our staff by 36.4% since March of 2020 and are looking to fill an additional 25% with a range of positions from Production Engineers, PCP Assemblers, Customer Service Representatives, and more with the aim of expanding production capabilities and bringing new products to market quickly without sacrificing the expert quality and legendary service we have been known for providing for over 20 years.

Here are a few words from our Director of Operations, Mike Hoperich on the backlog issues and our plan to get back to normal operations:

“We are doing everything we can to remedy the backlog and delay issues without sacrificing the quality of our product and are taking a number of actions to mitigate the hardships. 

We have increased staff on our purchasing team to help expand our material acquisitions and keep a healthy amount of pressure on our partners to help us deliver products in a respectful amount of time. Thankfully, we have a longstanding positive relationship with a majority of our partners. Of which most are here domestically in the USA within a 50-mile radius of our facility here in Tampa, FL. This strategy that’s been helpful in our time of need. We have chosen to prioritize the acquisition of materials despite price volatility in the market because we are committed to delivering products as soon as possible. We are currently purchasing in larger quantities, further out in advance to help get us back on track, and are striving to get back to normal in 2022. 

We know that this has been a hard time for everyone in the fishing industry and are fully prepared to do everything in our power to make it right and stand by our customers 100%, without question. Our number one priority is to provide a high-quality product without compromise and we will continue to do so as we overcome the challenges ahead of us.” 

Current Lead Times:

Hydraulic Anchors = 8-12 weeks depending on model, size & color

Mirco Anchor = 16-18 weeks

Charge = 20-24 weeks as supplies are available. There is a chance that we can run out before the end of the year.

3 comments

  • Louis Dillon has written:

    Yes I’ve had to wait a little longer than the gold standard service we’re used to , but I’ll say Power Pole is hands down one of the best service oriented companies that I have had the pleasure to deal with . The service and Tech service is the best of the best .

  • Robert Ferguson has written:

    I have tryed to buy your charger in Oklahoma and the shop in elk city ,ok.
    Was the worst place, the customer service was so bad I will never shop there again. Now.
    I have your charger on order ,paid for at HYDRILLA GEAR, for 2 months . Waiting for delivery. Now , they did reached out to me to let me know thar power pole was out of parts to make their chargers. I do understand I’m still wanting a charger , however truthfully how much longer before HYDRILLA GEAR would have any chargers ??

    • Curt Hill has written:

      Robert,

      We are doing everything in our ability to reduce the backorder timeframe for our products, as we navigate the globally affected supply chain challenges, along with the high demand for our Power-Pole Charge Marine Power Management Station. The lead time for new orders is roughly twenty weeks from the time they are processed.