The corona virus may dramatically change our common mindset of supply chain logic, the epoch of globalized and cooperatively work flows and supply chain management may be challenged and even thus impacted by such disease outbreak and moreover the official correspondences against the disease is a must yet considers be harmful to economic and commercial activities. Here are some thoughts to share for selection of a potential supplier.
Trust: when the international travels are seized. The old school style of business may just help. A trustworthy partner is not easy to find but worth to build one, through the personal characters and working manners of a partner we know if a promise can be kept despite of the distances and difficulties. This can make some minor yet positively differences which already good enough to distinguish you out of from the competitions.
Stability: both macro and micro view, the strengths of health care system for a nation that dose not allow the major work forces to be slumped suddenly. The overall industrial capabilities are able to self-provide without binding heavy dependences to some limited resources, both raw materials and technology.
Micro view is that the supplier is well enough from empirical, technical and logically to handle the daily jobs. This can easily tell from the daily communications and the measures of their outputs.
Experiences: you may argue why not knowledge or skills come first. But what told me from decades of career for medical device industry, I do prefer to hear a supplier says they have years, decades of experiences for doing this specific product rather than they tell you something like; we know how to do this, we have similar products so it is not issue to reenter a new one, or we are strong at RD so we can innovate it.. Doing a thing is rather different than knowing it. A group of knowledgeable personal may spend more time than a handy engineer when all we need is just to practically move one step forward. Sometimes the winner is not the best one is the one who makes less mistakes.
Pricing verse quality: Globalization use to give us a good term “Cost Down”, but does it necessary to correlate with product quality at the same time? Many good answers lean on its perspective to this aged question! For me I just simply ask the supplier what your desirable price would be as while you feel happy to sell me a good product. Instead you give out so called “reasonable low price” and you expect a supplier to offer a good quality product when they do not have enough margins to do so, then what will be the first thing to compromise from? I guess that would be “quality” all in all when they make product. The money you earned from the negotiation may not be able to compensate the loss of company reputation.
Afterall, we all hope the plague will eventually gone and our love ones will be safe, yet we cannot control the mother nature only than respect it and learn how to live under it with harmony. The authorities also told us the disease will become pandemic frequently which means it is worth to rethink, plan and prepare now. Then moving ahead avoid mistake and keep yourself, family and company all well.
Lastly, we would like to honor and respect all the health professionals, doctors and nurses who sacrifice themselves for the patients, you are angel!
