Team Insight

decorated and designed, so for us it's a case- by-case basis. One area we've focused on is planning further ahead than usual, so communication with our customer service team is critical to make sure we can do our best to meet market needs. Meller: e supply chain turmoil will con- tinue through 2022 into 2023 and possibly beyond. Our advice to dealers is plan ahead, buy in-demand products early and commu- nicate timelines to customers. Set realistic expectations based on the environment at hand. Schirmer: With such great demand we have added production sta to make sure we can get product out to team dealers as quickly as possible. at said, lead times are longer due to the demand, but we're hearing more and more from our customers that they are willing to wait for a quality net. ey're usually waiting longer for hardware anyway. Livingston: At the moment, we feel like we're in a good position to get back – or get much closer – to pre-pandemic lead times for this year even with our continued strong sales. Were there any positives for the goals/nets business in the past year? Livingston: It was a record year for Bison. However, that would not have happened if our entire team didn't work together. We had accounting and oce sta working overtime in production to help deal with the labor shortages. Having non-production employees building products allowed them to see how hard our production team works and what it takes to make these products every day. Meller: Demand for goals, specically lacrosse and backyard soccer/training goals was up signicantly. Schirmer: I'd say the rebound in demand as well as the normalization of sports schedules have been the biggest positives the past year. Since lead times are longer for products, the predictability does give team dealers and their clients time to prepare for their netting needs to be met. It really has forced people to think ahead, which to me isn't a bad thing. Ogle: e main positive is the strong demand for goals and nets this past year. St. George: Basketball continues to be the leading sport played worldwide with growth in casual play in 2021. Gared's legacy as an innovator continues to serve as the foundation of our indoor and outdoor product sales. Bawcum: is past year with schools in all states back to normal practices and games our goal and net business did see a nice jump in sales even from pre-pandemic numbers. is teaminsightmag.com May/June 2022 ~ Team Insight • 23

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