This credit collapse/meltdown/armageddon is a curious one to fathom. Do you not think? What are you lot seeing and hearing?
It seems like any response seems wholly inappropriate. For example, if you acknowledge there’s a squeeze going on but then follow up with how it isn’t affecting you and you’re bucking the trend, you’re a bit of an arse. Or, if you’re carrying on like you’re Prince circa 1999, you’re a bit more of an arse. And then if you race around like a financial Chicken Little, you’re an arse that’s on fire.
Now I received this email earlier today that falls into a category all of its own:
To say that 2008 didn’t come without its challenges would be an understatement. To say the New Year won’t bring new ones would be an overstatement. We’ve been there. We understand. ThomasNet.com is part of a larger organization that has survived, among other things, two World Wars and one major Depression. Experience has taught us how to navigate rocky roads and how to help businesses like yours do the same. This time is no exception.
To that end, we’d like to pass along some tips that can impact your bottom line as you consider and develop the upcoming year’s strategies:
- Evaluate your current suppliers to secure a healthy supply chain that will keep your operations moving
- Find out if your parts or products can be sourced locally to minimize shipping costs
- Keep up with new product releases to remain competitive and inspire new ideas
- Consult white papers to research new processes and technologies
- Grow your business without expanding your sales force
Now I’m sure Thomas.net are being well meaning here but maybe they could’ve added a bit more gravitas by invoking the spirit of Churchill as opposed to an England football chant. Still, as if I know what it’s like to steer a steady ship in choppy waters. I’d barely started my tea-time paper round when the Falklands kicked-off.
I’ll accept this is shaping up to be fairly swift and merciless, and there’s many a sheet metal fabrication or engineering shop shut down or dead round our neck of the woods. But the chaps were telling me over Christmas they’ve never known a busier potential January. It’s always been a quiet month, so they simply can’t work out where the upsurge has come from. In fact, straight after the credit crunch crunched, everything ground to an immediate halt – they were even looking at having a full two weeks shut down over Christmas and New Year. But that didn’t even transpire.
Maybe it’s a case of companies having held off for a couple of months and we’re only seeing what we would’ve seen in October. Maybe the pond’s a little smaller and people are having to look for new suppliers. Although I doubt it’s got much to do with tumbling steel costs.
Still, an unseasonably busy January a full 2009 does not make, so maybe it is time to batten down the hatches, dig in and roll those sleeves up.
Thomas.net, while a bit austere, could be right on the money.