The famous Silk Road once connected east and west. And fabric still travels from east to west, as fabrics are largely manufactured in Asia. Nowadays the fabrics don’t travel in caravans, however; they are most often shipped by sea. Some of Foxa’s fabrics come from Asia via this new Silk Road, while others travel over land from elsewhere in Europe.
”Delivering products to the customer on time is important to us. Deliveries have recovered well and are almost at pre-pandemic levels. We saw lots of different logistical issues during that time,” explains Foxa’s logistics and quality manager, Jaana Moberg.
The product delivery method is usually determined by how urgently the customer requires the products. If there is time, the product is usually shipped by sea, which is an affordable and eco-friendly option. In such cases, the journey from Asia to Europe takes around 8 weeks.
“In exceptional circumstances, if the customer needs the products very urgently, they can be shipped by plane. The customer makes the decision themselves based on their needs and values.”
And if Covid-19 affected logistics, so did the war in Ukraine. Shipping by train across Russia was a quick, affordable, and eco-friendly delivery method. Now that is no longer an option.
”Operating environments change quickly. Strikes are very common at ports, and we need to prepare for an increasing number of natural phenomena in the future. Delivery reliability should therefore not be taken for granted. Nevertheless, we always strive to choose delivery methods wisely.”
Foxa has its own range of sample products which are always in stock in the warehouse. They are shipped to order, usually on the same day as order placement. Finnish customers receive their fabrics the next day.
“Sometimes, if someone needs the products very urgently, we deliver the products using our own van. We can do that if a customer needs samples quickly for a competitive tender, for example.”