Old Normal, New Normal, there is no Normal!!
Individuals, business people, elected officials all keep talking about normal. Getting back to normal, the new normal, but both are false pursuits! I am reminded of the finals scenes in the early 90’s movie Tombstone, where Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer) asks Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russel) what he had wanted, and Earp replies, “just to live a normal life”. Doc tells him, “There is no normal life Wyatt, just life, now get on with it”.
It is one of those lines that has stayed with me. it’s helped those that are change embracers. Not just because it involves risk, or because it keeps you off balance, but because it is the way things are. Normal is a unicorn. People try to use the term to provide some sense of control or stability, but at what point to you establish “normalcy” in business.
When you look back, (in my case over 40 years) and assess how much manufacturing has changed, what period in our evolution could you refer to as the “norm”? The only norm has been change. And it will continue.
There are some workers and companies that are treading water through this current environment, waiting to come out the other side and get back to normal. Maybe they now recognize that things will be different, but want to make it as normal as possible. They are just setting themselves up to disappoint their customers when they cannot react to the playing field before them.
If your current suppliers are trying to get back to normal. If they are reacting to the COVID-19 epidemic through waiting until more guidance comes out. If they are putting steps in place as temporary until things blow over, then you as a customer may be in trouble.
Business must be adjusting and making changes to account for not just current conditions, but remain nimble to react to what is (and always was) a fluid situation.
At PlastiCert, our OTD has remained at 98%+ in spite of the fluctuations in staff and their work schedules. Our inventory turns have remained just shy of 11 and our overtime hit an all-time low, maintaining our KPI and while still producing revenue equal to forecast for the four months of 2020.
If your supplier’s numbers are slipping, give us a call. With no sales people, we have been working virtually for years, and have served our customers well, coast to coast.