Supply chain woes highlighted at NIGA Gaming Tradeshow

Experts predict the problem will persist at least into next year.

One panel at Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention addressed issues surrounding the supply chain crisis caused by the pandemic. It was called “Survival Tactics for The Continuing Global Supply Chain Crisis” and began with an introduction by panel moderator Carl Long, President of PMI Tribal Services, a company advising tribes on industry issues.

Long emphasized the gravity of the problem. The Global Supply Chain Pressure Index is, thanks to Covid, four standard deviations of pressure above what is normal. The cost of shipping a single container from Shanghai to Los Angeles has increased by 131% in the last year. And the heart of the problem is homegrown: it is hold-ups in the United States that are shouldering the vast majority of this increase.

So what can be done? More specifically, what can tribal operators do to alleviate this issue?

“I’m going to sound like a broken record: procure early, procure early, procure early.” This was Chris Creasey, the Director of the Tutor Perini Building Corp and who is active on the actual construction side. “You have to expedite your process.”

Creasey recalled the story of a casino that foresaw the crisis and instructed his company to buy the requisite steel and warehouse it. While this is expensive, the steel is there even as global demand tightens.

Procuring early is easier said than done. Building a casino is a multi-faceted operation. Even harder than procuring early is coordinating all the parties’ plans to such an extent. Extensive logistical coordinaiton is needed between arhcitects, designers, builders, tribal leadership and anyone else involved in the construction of a casino. 

This can be made more difficult due to the design of tribal governments, which are often a grouping of multiple interests employing a multi-leveled decision-making capacity. If things need to happen fast – and ahead of time – tribal operators are going to have to embrace a relatively expedited process.

John Hinton, Director of Native American Projects for Bergman Walls & Associates, noted that even with adequate procurment and coordination, the US is facing a near-existential labor crisis that threatens construction even with funcitoning supply chains.

The average age for a master plumber is 56, for a master electrician 54. The young, Hinton emphasized, need to be pushed toward the trade schools. 

Tribal operators would do well to take these pointers on board. The supply chain crisis is expected to persist at least through 2023.

Cameron Saunders

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