Dear Valued Distributors,
I’m delighted to share with you the remarkable progress we have made on the transformative journey that Atlas Fibre has undertaken over the past year. Our commitment to improvement has been unwavering, with strategic investments in people, processes, and technology, all aimed at enhancing every facet of our operations and ensuring an exceptional product and buying experience for you, our valued partners, for years to come.
At Atlas Fibre, we understand the trust you place in us. Our business is your business, and we take it seriously. Our distribution partners are the cornerstone of our operation, and we are continually making investments to ensure we successfully support you and your customers’ needs now and in the future.
In 2024, Atlas Fibre has been hyper-focused on ‘management by measurement’. While we’ve long held ourselves to the highest standards for production quality, over the past months we have concentrated on making an impact in specific areas such as response times, on-time delivery metrics, and order accuracy to ensure we are serving you well throughout the buyer experience.
While we’re not at 100% of our goal yet, we are getting closer every day. To demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement with our critical distribution partners, today I’m pleased to be sharing critical performance metrics with you that highlight Atlas Fibre’s commitment to continuous improvement. Notice, for example, that our SLA with distribution partners is the most aggressive in the industry:
While we’re currently achieving our goal approximately 70% of the time, we are improving month over month and continue to invest in hiring, training, and additional software and systems to ensure we continue responding to distributor requests as quickly as possible.
Atlas Fibre has also excelled when it comes to on-time shipments (OTS). While the end of March and early April were difficult due to supply chain disruptions caused by the conflict in the Red Sea (which added an unexpected four weeks of additional lead times while ships were rerouted around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope) we’ve made tremendous strides.
Today, Atlas Fibre is shipping all materials on time 85% of the time. Our standard lead time commitments have remained unchanged – next day shipping for all in-stock products and three-day lead times for all custom cut pieces – both are committed lead times that are the best in the industry.
This includes all misses due to missed pickups from freight carriers and misses due to incomplete shipping information on Purchase Orders (no freight method or missing account numbers). If you remove these exceptions, our OTS rating approaches 93%. You may hear from our customer service team asking for more clarification on these details up front to ensure that when your shipment is ready, it can get on a truck as soon as possible.
While the numbers are headed in the right direction, we know that every mistake is critical, and we appreciate your feedback on how we can improve our level of service.
Atlas Fibre is deeply dedicated and enthusiastic about fostering the growth and success of our preferred distributor partners. Our commitment extends to continuously enhancing our operations and services to exceed the expectations of our partners. We understand the crucial role our distributors play in our ecosystem, and we actively work to support their endeavors through innovative strategies and steadfast support. By investing in our relationships, we ensure mutual success and sustained growth, underscoring our dedication to not just maintaining, but elevating the standards of our collaborative achievements.
Reflecting on our journey, the pace and depth of change we’ve experienced at Atlas Fibre has been profound. Transitioning to new technologies and processes, while striving to enhance operational efficiency, presented its share of challenges. With those obstacles and challenges behind us, we’ve emerged stronger and more capable, equipped to serve you efficiently and effectively today, with a strong foundation for continued improvement tomorrow.
As 2024 marches on, our ambitions remain high, with plans to advance our inventory management, optimize logistics, bolster quality control and assurance, refine order fulfillment processes, and enhance supply chain efficiency. These initiatives are not only aimed at streamlining our operations but also reinforcing Atlas Fibre’s position as leaders in thermoset materials.
Understanding the pivotal role Atlas Fibre plays in your company’s operations fuels our dedication to maintaining our position as the leading supplier of thermoset composite materials. We’re excited to start highlighting some of the significant improvements we’ve made and the positive impact they’ve had on our distributors, from streamlined order processing to notable reductions in delivery lead times.
Looking forward, Atlas Fibre remains committed to pursuing operational excellence, as evidenced by the enhancements highlighted in our recent newsletter. We see this as a testament of our dedication to your success and a demonstration of the value we place on our partnership. Your feedback and insights are invaluable as we strive to build a more efficient and responsive Atlas Fibre capable of meeting the evolving demands of the market.
Thank you for your continued dedication and commitment to Atlas Fibre. Together, let’s embrace innovation and change, and keep pushing forward to achieve even greater success.
Warm regards and best wishes,
Max Egan
CEO, Atlas Fibre
