I’m not a fan of Huawei phones or HarmonyOS, but my dad is. Like, he’s basically part of Huawei’s loyal customer base: middle-aged, well-off supporter with two phones and steady demand. Thanks to their stan-like support, the Huawei Mate60 is often out of stock.
Last weekend, we were at Sam’s for grocery but it sells pretty much everything as well. My dad rushed to the Huawei counter to check on the Mate60. As expected, it was out of stock. The clerk mentioned a possible restock next week, but with limited options.
This whole situation strikes me as a classic example of a stockout in inventory management. It’s a backorder scenario, where customers like my dad are willing to wait for the product to become available, and just buy immediately. And also, he’s so loyal to his usual shopping spots that he wouldn’t consider buying from a different retailer, even though we could go to a local Huawei store.
I talked to the clerk and learned about the unpredictability in the phone’s supply chain. It seems like everyone involved is facing challenges these days.
Fine. Hopefull this backorder can be resolved and my dad gets his new phone soon. It’s interesting to see how brand loyalty and supply issues play out in real life.