Our Suppliers
We are proud to state that most of our suppliers (with many of them, we have long-term relations) proved to be reliable partners despite the fact that supply and demand, including transportation capacity, were totally out of balance and put a lot of stress on our supply chain. As a result of high efforts of our purchasing, supply chain and R&D teams, we were able to keep the impact for our customers limited to the minimum possible considering circumstances.
The Post-COVID-19 Period
Life and business will never be the same after COVID-19. On a societal level, we will need to learn that we must implement a circular value chain by converting all the hides that become available as a by-product from the food industry into valuable products that can be repaired and recycled. This always needs to be done in compliance with laws and regulations, in a transparent way, and by allowing all participants in the chain to earn money and continuously invest in innovation and improvement. This is also true for us at Royal Smit & Zoon. We will intensify our investments in innovations and in IT tools. This will facilitate a better balance between traveling and online contact and engage more intensively with our agents, distributors, customers, brands, NGOs, and others to create a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain.
The business results have been recovering compared to 2020, although the stress in the supply chain has meant significant efforts in managing margins and profitability. We have been able to prevent forced layoffs and were able to stay on course of our longer-term business strategy.
Our Business Results
Our customers, including their customers, the brands, have strongly recovered in 2021, although supply chains have been severely disrupted, causing stress in the leather supply chain. We are proud to report that we have been able to strengthen our ties with most of our customers, by engaging with each other, understanding our joint challenges, and finding solutions.
Our customers
Our modern IT systems have proven their value by facilitating remote working and keeping contact with each other and our business partners in an efficient way. The commercial and technical teams experience a significant change in their daily work because of severe restrictions in visiting customers. Also, they have found new ways of interacting with customers and presenting leather collections and test results, using today’s modern communication tools.
Our people
Also in 2021, our global and local crisis teams have been in force. We implemented the individual countries’ governmental guidelines including ‘work from home if possible’, thorough sanitation, social distancing, traveling restrictions, and restrictions for visitors. Due to this alertness, we have largely been able to keep our factories and leather service centers running to service our customers. Despite all these measures, regretfully two of our team members died because of a COVID-19 infection and our thoughts are with their relatives.
For the second year, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the leather industry, our company, and especially on the lives of our employees. We expect this to continue well into 2022 and we make our plans accordingly.
COVID-19 Impact
“Life and business will never be the same after
COVID-19.”
COVID-19 Impact
For the second year, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the leather industry, our company, and especially on the lives of our employees. We expect this to continue well into 2022 and we make our plans accordingly.
Our people
Also in 2021, our global and local crisis teams have been in force. We implemented the individual countries’ governmental guidelines including ‘work from home if possible’, thorough sanitation, social distancing, traveling restrictions, and restrictions for visitors. Due to this alertness, we have largely been able to keep our factories and leather service centers running to service our customers. Despite all these measures, regretfully two of our team members died because of a COVID-19 infection and our thoughts are with their relatives.
Our modern IT systems have proven their value by facilitating remote working and keeping contact with each other and our business partners in an efficient way. The commercial and technical teams experience a significant change in their daily work because of severe restrictions in visiting customers. Also, they have found new ways of interacting with customers and presenting leather collections and test results, using today’s modern communication tools.
The Post-COVID-19 Period
Life and business will never be the same after COVID-19. On a societal level, we will need to learn that we must implement a circular value chain by converting all the hides that become available as a by-product from the food industry into valuable products that can be repaired and recycled. This always needs to be done in compliance with laws and regulations, in a transparent way, and by allowing all participants in the chain to earn money and continuously invest in innovation and improvement. This is also true for us at Royal Smit & Zoon. We will intensify our investments in innovations and in IT tools. This will facilitate a better balance between traveling and online contact and engage more intensively with our agents, distributors, customers, brands, NGOs, and others to create a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain.
Our customers, including their customers, the brands, have strongly recovered in 2021, although supply chains have been severely disrupted, causing stress in the leather supply chain. We are proud to report that we have been able to strengthen our ties with most of our customers, by engaging with each other, understanding our joint challenges, and finding solutions.
Our customers
Our Suppliers
We are proud to state that most of our suppliers (with many of them, we have long-term relations) proved to be reliable partners despite the fact that supply and demand, including transportation capacity, were totally out of balance and put a lot of stress on our supply chain. As a result of high efforts of our purchasing, supply chain and R&D teams, we were able to keep the impact for our customers limited to the minimum possible considering circumstances.
The business results have been recovering compared to 2020, although the stress in the supply chain has meant significant efforts in managing margins and profitability. We have been able to prevent forced layoffs and were able to stay on course of our longer-term business strategy.
Our Business Results
“Life and business will never be the same after COVID-19.”
