A Message to Our Valued Customers
March 20, 2020
We recognize that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety surrounding the health and well-being of your employees and the continuity of your business. As the pandemic has accelerated, we are receiving questions about our business operations, supply chain continuity and the allocation of certain high-demand personal protective equipment and cleaning products.
With some states requiring non-essential workers to stay home, we have received questions about our business operations. MSC is deemed to be an essential, critical and life-sustaining business under all state and federal standards and, barring some unforeseen circumstances, we plan to continue our operations to serve you. We support customers that produce medical products and we are distributing personal protective equipment and cleaning products directly to the healthcare and government agencies addressing the public health emergency.
We have seen unprecedented spikes in demand for certain products, particularly for respirators, goggles, disposable clothing, hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and sprays, and tissue. Our disposable respirator suppliers have informed us that we can expect further delays for these products as their first priority is to support the healthcare organizations and government agencies addressing the public health emergency. Further, they expect that the need to shift supply will likely continue for the duration of the emergency around the world. As respirators and other high-demand products become available, we are prioritizing government agencies that provide critical safety and security to the public, first responders and agencies providing vital services. This includes the fulfillment of orders subject to the President invoking the Defense Production Act. This act requires us to prioritize properly rated orders in the defense, homeland security and health and human services sectors. We are adhering to the guidelines. Once we have fulfilled those orders, we will then fill for existing solutions customers and others where we have contractual obligations with inventory commitments. We are committed to providing you timely updates on product availability and delivery.
From a supply chain continuity perspective, we have taken action to increase inventory levels and we are monitoring the situation with our suppliers to mitigate any potential disruptions. At this point, we have strong inventory levels of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations supplies, excluding the aforementioned high-demand products. We will continue to work with our extensive supplier base and alternative sourcing partners and make every effort to maintain inventory levels to support your needs. At the present time, we do not see major disruption within our supply chain but will keep you apprised if we see disruption on the horizon.
We recognize that the pandemic is creating many challenges. Our team stands ready to continue to support you. Our sales representatives will be in regular contact via phone, email and videoconferencing when in-person meetings are not viable. As always, orders can be placed through your MSC account representative or at mscdirect.com. Our Customer Service and Technical Support teams can be reached at 1-800-645-7270.
Sincerely,
Edward F. Martin, Jr.SVP, Sales & Customer Success
MSC Industrial Supply Co.