2021. A year that I have been looking forward to. To start with of course, because of the hope that we will regain our freedom to be able to meet up with one another without all sorts of restrictions. A year in which we will be able to embrace our family and friends and I will be able to shake your hand.
A special year for Textaafoam as well. Not only do we have numerous plans to better facilitate you as a customer with, for example, a broad choice of sustainable fabrics, we will also celebrate our 50th anniversary. And while that humbles us, it also fills us with pride.
We are proud of the extended Textaafoam family that helped develop the idea of founder Frans van der Aa, my grandfather, into the company as you now know it. It was on 28 September 1970 that he registered Textaafoam with the Chamber of Commerce in Tilburg. We are regularly asked where this name came from. So perhaps it would be nice to share this with you!
Textaafoam is a combination of
TEXT from textile
AA from ‘van der Aa’
FOAM from the trade in cushions at the time.
That trade in cushions stopped 20 years ago but we continue to carry the name with pride!
In the course of this year, we will be happy to share more interesting facts about our great company and surprise you, as usual, with articles and services that support your creativity.
I also wish you a great, healthy and successful new year.
See you soon,
Mark van der Aa.
In December, we sent you an email with a corona update. A reassuring email, telling you that you did not have to worry about your orders. We did ask you to coordinate your planning with us so that you would not have to worry about future (new) orders and deliveries. This is because the lockdown and problems with containers pose the necessary challenges for every supply chain.
Fortunately, our partnership with you was again proven: you shared your planning with us and we acted on this. We’ve said it before: communication is the basis for a reliable supply chain!
And now the Chinese New Year – an annual challenge for the supply chain – is approaching. What impact will this have?
In these turbulent times too, you can rely on our OTIF deliveries. We’re happy to explain how we make this possible. A better understanding of the challenges and how these can be overcome successfully is one of the elements that helps maintain a reliable supply chain.
Planning for bridging the gap of two to three months in which the Chinese suppliers do not follow their regular delivery routine start almost six months before CNY. We adapt our purchasing on the basis of the sales pattern, forecasts and available customer prognoses.
It comes as no surprise that the changes in the sales pattern as a result of COVID-19 posed a great challenge. Following an initial decrease in demand and sales in the spring of 2020, the demand for and sale of our new fabric introductions soon increased significantly. Because of the lack of a predictable sales pattern, we employ a variety of means to achieve a reliable forecast.
Deadlines for deliveries before CNY became significantly shorter as a result of all sorts of side effects of COVID-19, which further increased pressure on the forecast and planning:
Our view on relationships with parties throughout the chain (i.e. long-term partnerships) again proves its worth. Thanks to our partnerships in particular, we are not experiencing any insurmountable problems. In collaboration with our suppliers and forwarders, we ensure that your orders are delivered; despite delays as a result of COVID-19 measures in the ports on supply routes and unprecedented rises in container prices.
The unpredictability of demand, sales, production and transport capacity will for now remain the order of the day. It is impossible to predict how COVID-19 will develop. But we shall continue to communicate with you and our partners. The more information we have, the easier it is for us to anticipate. For instance, we have compensated for the limited buffers our suppliers have in our own (purchasing) schedule. That way you can be assured that we will continue to supply from stock..
On the basis of available information and stock potential, we have done our utmost to deliver your orders On Time In Full in the first quarter of 2021.
2021 is the Year of the Ox according to Chinese zodiac. This is a Year of Metal Ox, starting from Feb. 12, 2021 and lasting to Jan. 31, 2022.
Ox is the second in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac sign. Years of the Ox include 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033…
Oxen used to be capable farming tools in an agricultural society, which attach to the symbol of diligence, persistence, and honesty.
In Chinese culture, Ox is a faithful friend that made great contributions to the development of the society.
Like the ox, people born in the Year of the Ox are industrious, cautious, hold their faith firmly, and always glad to offer help.
It is said that Ox ranks the second among the Chinese zodiacs because it helped the Rat but was later tricked by it.
The myth goes that the Jade Emperor declared the order of zodiac signs would be based on the arrival orders of 12 animals.
Ox could have arrived the first but it kindly gave a ride to Rat. However, when arriving, Rat just jumped to the terminus ahead of Ox, and thus Ox lost the first place.
