FireAngel
Recent FireAngel deliveries on Friday 21st and Monday 24th January have now brought all of their FRS customer stock levels up to a minimum of 5 weeks. The next delivery is not expected until w/c 31st January when FireAngel have forecast that a further 6,000-7,000 alarms will be available for allocation. It is then hoped that a similar quantity will be delivered on a weekly basis thereafter until the end of March. Whilst we welcome regular deliveries of this quantity it will only serve to cover the average number of alarms being fitted each week and does not address the backlog of orders. FireAngel have indicated that they don’t expect to see any improvement or marked increases on the quantities being delivered until the second quarter of 2022 and this is due to the ongoing shortages of key components.
FireAngel are unable to supply any Hearing Impaired smoke alarms, WST630, before March due to the global shortage of microchip components.
There are no issues with the supply of standard heat and CO alarms or vibrating pads & strobes.
Fireblitz
Fireblitz are also experiencing difficulties in obtaining microchip components for their hearing impaired alarms, FHB10W, although not to the same extent as FireAngel. Fireblitz can and will continue to fulfil orders for their regular FRS customers however if regular demands need to increase they have asked FRS’s to discuss this with them before raising an order.
Fireblitz only have sufficient stock coming in to fulfil the orders they have for January, February and March. Should any FireAngel customers want to place an order with Fireblitz now then it should be noted that the delivery would be for April onwards.
It would be helpful if any FRS who are considering ordering from Fireblitz could please contact them to discuss requirements and arrange training as soon as possible and not wait until an order is raised.
AICO
As stated in previous communications AICO can manufacture and deliver smoke alarms in a relatively short period of time (circa 1 week) so again those FRS who may be struggling to maintain a sufficient stock of alarms may want to consider placing a purchase order with AICO.
AICO do not have any supply chain issues with components for their hearing impaired alarms Ei650RF and offer a 10 to 12 working day lead time. It would be helpful if any FRS who are considering ordering from Aico could please contact them to discuss requirements and arrange training as soon as possible.
Bellman
Hearing Impaired alarms can be purchased from Bellman and Symfon through the framework. Bellman offer a 5 year alarm with a removable battery. Bellman are a small company and only have a small amount of alarms in stock however they can obtain more from their parent company in Sweden within 3 days. Bellman are not currently experiencing any supply chain issues with components.
Forecasting
All of the Framework suppliers have asked that FRS’s consider their long term needs and provide schedules of their requirements for the next 6 months (and raise corresponding orders) to help them plan their production and purchase components.
The current supply issues have meant that many FRS’s have purchased from more than one supplier on the Framework in order to provide the necessary resilience to support their prevention activities. In some cases this is a temporary measure but some FRS’s have indicated that they may want to switch suppliers (in whole or part) on a permanent basis. Either way it is essential that your future intentions are communicated to the suppliers concerned as early as possible so that their production and freight arrangements can be adjusted accordingly and your future needs accommodated.
Data Portal and Forecasting data
In light of the ongoing issues with the supply of alarms it is imperative that a return is submitted on the data portal every week. This enables the allocation of FireAngel stock as soon as it becomes available. This information is also shared with suppliers to help them forecast for short term demand and also helps to highlight if mutual aid is required.
Kind regards
Jacky Perkins
Senior Contracts Manager | Procurement
West Midlands Fire Service
0121 380 6176