A Message On Our Extended Upholstery Lead Times

**Updated as of September 2021**

The furniture industry as a whole is still feeling the effects of the challenges detailed below, inhibiting our ability to improve upon and return to our standard lead times.

With Hurricane Ida and its recent disruption to the petrochemical industry (which is critical in the manufacturing of foam), we anticipate additional delays. Additionally, widespread labor shortages have further disrupted supply chains that were already suffering from material shortages. Many suppliers are operating with limited staff, meaning even once they have the needed materials on hand, their lead times are longer. These challenges have led to multi-week delays and suppliers being unable to provide us with delivery dates for materials that are essential to the custom upholstery pieces we create. This presents an extreme challenge to provide you with an accurate production lead time for upholstery orders. 

While the availability of materials and labor shortage is out of our control, we can assure you that our team is working diligently to improve processes, implement order caps, and diversify our suppliers to try and maintain lead times as best we can. We are committed to completing and delivering your order as quickly as possible. We promise to provide you with our best estimate of our expected shipping date at the time your order is placed and ask for your understanding if our suppliers face further COVID-19 related delays.

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**Updated as of June 2021**

Although we had hoped to see a supply chain recovery this spring, the furniture industry as a whole is unfortunately still feeling the effects of the challenges detailed below, inhibiting our ability to improve upon and return to our standard lead times. For the most accurate lead time estimate, please visit the respective product page of the item you are interested in. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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**March 2021 Lead Time Update**

How have COVID-19 and the recent Texas ice storms affected your order?

“Unprecedented times,” an exhausted phrase, but one that most accurately portrays the catastrophic events that are currently plaguing the Furniture Industry.  At a time where the industry is experiencing the highest level of demand it has seen in decades coupled with supply-chain challenges as a result of the global health crisis and inclement weather in Texas and Louisiana, lead times are far beyond anything the industry has ever seen or find acceptable in servicing our customers. 

For decades at our North Carolina factory, we’ve worked closely with our trusted domestic material suppliers to bring each one of your custom made-to-order pieces to life. We depend on the 3-4 reliable foam fabricators that service the US Furniture Industry in its entirety to craft our custom upholstery. These suppliers, already operating at a diminished state of production due to the strain of material shortages and manpower caused by COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, were then completely derailed by the recent Texas storms. The late February ice storm and subsequent power loss in Texas furthered these shortages and delays as foam manufacturing completely paused. Many facilities remained closed for weeks and as they began to re-open, infrastructure damage from the freezing temperatures complicated the re-starting process. At this time most facilities are still operating in a very limited capacity meaning lead times for foam that had extended from a few days to a few weeks have now stretched to a level of inconsistency that is truly unpredictable.  

Society Social and the furniture industry as a whole have been directly impacted by these foam delays. With these plant closures and lengthy backlogs, we are at the mercy of foam production facilities who are working hard to get the supply chain back on track. With that said, based on conversations with industry professionals and information gathered by trade publications, we do not anticipate steady foam deliveries to resume until late May.

 

What does this mean for you and your order with Society Social? 

As always, it is our goal to fulfill orders as quickly as we are able. This will continue to remain our top priority along with providing beautiful, high-quality products for our customers. Prior to Covid-19 and the Texas outages, reliable supply chains enabled us to service upholstery orders within a 6-8 week lead time. The current state of the supply chain prevents us not only from delivering within our ideal lead times, but has also made it very difficult for us to confidently guarantee delivery dates. 

Please be assured that our team is working tirelessly to continue production on our orders to the fullest extent we are able. Rather than wait for all materials to be on hand, your order will move through the stages of production that do not rely on foam, which comes into play in the final steps of production. Continuing production enables us to complete and ship your order in a timely manner once foam is received.

As a small business, we know your support is what keeps us going. Your continued choice to shop with us this year has meant more than you can ever imagine and we do not take a single one of you for granted. As we work through these current challenges, we will strive to be as honest, upfront and informative as possible. We appreciate your patience as we work hard to navigate these unexpected challenges alongside the unprecedented demand for creating beautiful spaces at home.  Thank you for your understanding. 

Should you have any questions or concerns, our customer service team is here to help: contact@shopsocietysocial.com