Podratsky rejoins Global Supply Chain Partners
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, June 22, 2009
Alpharetta, Ga. — Allen Podratsky has returned full time to Global Supply Chain Partners, the growing mattress industry supplier based here.
Podratsky has rejoined his partner, Larry Saupe, at the company, which continues to perform work related to the federal mattress flammability standard and also has added products to its portfolio.
A former top executive in supply chain management at Simmons and Spring Air, Podratsky said his company has expanded into the manufacture and design of sewn point-of-purchase materials for showroom displays. It has done so through a partnership with a supplier of high-quality draperies, he said.
"Several of our clients are concerned about the cost of goods, so we are offering them a more cost-effective solution," Podratsky said of the new POP program. "GSCP offers the lowest overhead and great value for the money."
In addition, the company is the exclusive North American distributor for a new product called the SimpleBed, which Podratsky described as the most comfortable folding bed on the market. The design of the beds ensures that the spring unit never bends, thus keeping the bed comfortable for daily use.
More than 1.5 million of the beds have been sold in Korea and Japan. American-friendly designs and textiles are planned for the U.S. version of the product, he said.
While the company is offering those new products, it continues to offer its expertise in the FR arena. Podratsky said GSCP is working to help producers meet the certification requirements of the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which went into effect last year.
He said his company has seen a marked increase in requests for mock Consumer Product Safety Commission audits, which producers use to gauge their readiness for an official CPSC mattress flammability audit.
"Producers are concerned that they may soon be inspected and realize that being prepared will protect their brand and business," Podratsky said. "This (mock audit) makes good business sense," adding that GSCP has helped a number of its customers pass CPSC audits "with flying colors."
Podratsky recently played a high-visibility role at the Green Summit held earlier this year by the Specialty Sleep Assn. He was one of the facilitators for the session, which addressed the need to define green terms commonly used in the mattress industry.
