Just what we need right? As if the turmoil we operate in is not enough, now we are heading face first into an inflationary sh!tstorm.
I normally write fairly left-of-centre blogs, but this month I think the crew need a serious shout out for the graft they are doing on your behalf.
The last thing any of our team want to be doing with their customer facing time is talk about price increases, and therefore, our team of storm troopers are very highly motivated to crush as much cost and inflationary pressure out of the current climate as possible. The team has remained very focused over the last couple of years on trying to make sure we do whatever we can to remove barriers and pain points for our partners so they can focus on the important bits. When the supplier price increases started coming in waves however, we initially thought there was nothing we could do about it, but then again…
We have run far and wide on how we mitigate price increases and have been cobbling together a raft of tactics to try and soften the blow on key inputs:
- Partnering with some customers to take early delivery of the bulk of their seasonal stocks with deferred terms to match their cashflow
- Setting up small regional storage locations to reduce storage costs and transport inputs
- Working with customers to make early commitments allowing us the confidence to make bigger indents and achieve higher price breaks
- Pushing back on suppliers asking for more transparency or deferring their price increases
- We took some chunky bets and got in large orders before increases came into effect
- Working closely with customers to look at different options for their inputs to reduce cost
While the team see this as par for the course, the response from our customers makes it all worthwhile. We may not be able to keep the inflationary wolf from the door forever, but we can give it a bloody good nudge.
We welcome customer feedback on how we balance continuity of supply with sensible pricing. You can't do it alone, we can't do it alone, but we can optimise the situation together.
Talk to any of our team, myself included (022 043 2312) if you have ideas for stronger partnerships with better results.