Stuller Inc. has announced it will resume shipping in-stock items to customers on April 13.
The Lafayette-based company, which has operations in North America, Barcelona and Bangkok, closed in March to comply with the state's stay-at-home order. At that time, 1,263 employees were sent home in Louisiana. According to a recent release from the company, Stuller has 1,573 employees worldwide.
The announcement regarding resumption of operations, which was made via the company's blog, came from President Danny Clark.
"First and foremost we hope this note finds you and yours safe and sound. These are trying times and we are aware that you are operating, if able, under a difficult set of circumstances and we want to find new ways to help you," he writes. "Beginning the week of Monday, April, 13th, 2020 we will resume shipping available in-stock items. In addition, we will begin to rebuild our capabilities to deliver custom and manufactured items, with plans of being fully capable by May 4th, 2020."
Clark isn't specific about the announcement, but says that the company is "operating with smaller teams as Louisiana continues to battle the virus."
When the company closed operations in March, it was with the intention of resuming operations on April 13 - because the original stay-at-home order expired on April 12. However, since that time the governor has extended the stay-at-home order through April 30.
The company has created an FAQ page for their customers' concerns about operating during the pandemic. You can read it here.
But, Clark acknowledges the constantly changing nature of operating during the pandemic.
"The pandemic and its impact on individuals, communities, and businesses remains fluid. It seems like every twenty-four hours brings about a new set of circumstances that requires new decisions. Please know that we are actively seeking ways to support you," he wrote. "In the last two weeks, we have answered hundreds of inquiries and received huge support from you and your teams. Thank you for your words of encouragement and we will find a way together."
On Monday April 13, the company releaseda set of guidelines they are following to keep employees and their customers safe. Read the full post here.
Like you, we are doing a lot of thinking, planning, and hoping that these next few weeks will create the space needed to reengage with each other. At Stuller, we have focused our efforts on a few critical areas in order to give us the best chance to support your needs, whatever they may be.
1. What we are doing for employees
- Our top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees.
- We made multiple process updates to deliver enhanced cleaning services and created more social distance between work stations.
- We invested in PPE, such as masks for our employees, and began temperature checks upon entry into the facility.
- We established a ‘work from home’ process for all jobs that can be completed from a home office.
- For roles that cannot be completed from home, we established work shifts to keep the departments under ten employees at a time.
2. What we are doing for our customers
- Our phone, chat, and Stuller.com services are running normal operating hours Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. CDT.
- This week, we are delivering in stock orders placed since our ‘stay at home’ proclamation began on March 23, 2020.
- Going forward, beginning April 14, 2020, we are shipping all in-stock items.
- We are delivering our Mother’s Day brochure to all businesses operating at this time.
- We are rebuilding our capabilities to ship made-to-order products and will be fully capable by May 4, 2020.
