Planes, trains and chains

© Khunaspix Dreamstime.

Every British male above a certain age – and quite a few below it – will know Hornby, the venerable manuacturer of model train sets and other types of tranport assets in miniature. So news that supply chain issues had hit its sales during what should be its traditionally busy period were not without an emotive edge. Nonetheless, the story of its travails on finding a suitable supplier to produce its goods is a modern day supply chain fable. Its previous manufacturer became unable to fulfil orders, so Hornby looked to restructure its supply chain and is now considering bringing production back to the UK.