Sell, sell, sell
1 July 2020
One of the pieces I published to launch this blog four weeks ago was about MD Tool Hire & Sales, the Warrington-based business started by Matt Dolan in January. It’s gone from strength to strength, even during the pandemic.
Matt contacted me to say that he’s finding it surprisingly difficult to buy some equipment to keep pace with demand. “I’m frustrated because so many companies still have staff furloughed and their efficiency has dropped. Or, I have to deal with different people in the same business, who don’t have the same helpful attitude.
“It’s been taking five days to get some deliveries which are normally next-day, because firms are under-staffed. I understand the pressures, but those companies who can respond will win the business,” said Matt. “More companies need to bring people back from furlough. Some already have - one sales rep I spoke to this week said he was now working at 200mph to keep up with demand. Others should do the same.”
This is obviously just one hirer’s experience, but after the uncertainty surrounding lockdown and the economic outlook, who would have thought that problems of demand would revolve around there being too much of it, rather than too little?
And perhaps that’s the point: it has taken many by surprise - even, to some extent, the Bank of England.
Yesterday, the Bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, reaffirmed the institution’s earlier belief that the recovery will be V-shaped, with the sudden decline being matched by an equally sharp rise. However, reporting on the UK’s Q2 performance, he said the economy’s rebound “has come somewhat sooner, and has been materially faster” than expected. “The UK’s recovery is more than two months old,” he added.
Nevertheless, Mr Haldane said that the risks to the economy remain considerable. “Of these risks, the most important to avoid is a repeat of the high and long-duration unemployment rates of the 1980s.”
Furthermore, the prime minister yesterday warned that the post-pandemic crisis would be worse than the 2008 financial crash. “I’m not going to pretend that this is going to be without real, real difficulty and real, real bumps,” he said.
So suppliers (and, indeed, hirers) face Catch 22. Do they risk bringing back staff, only to find that the demand is short-lived, or do they keep staff furloughed and miss business opportunities?
The MD of one manufacturer I spoke to recently said he had been amazed by the level of demand, and had to decide whether to bring back furloughed workshop staff earlier. This had implications for their supply chain, too: producing more machines would need more parts, and the sub-contractors would face the same decisions about personnel levels.
Another machinery supplier reported a similar demand surge, and was trying to source products quickly from throughout their dealer network, many of which had furloughed some sales people.
Furthermore, there are bound to be local variations in demand - and especially if more areas have to go into lockdown again if levels of the virus increase, as happened in Leicester yesterday.
These are challenging times indeed, with echoes of the post-credit crunch scenario. Then, suppliers wanted a steady recovery, enabling them to step up production after months - or years - of reduced activity, and to re-establish global supply chains.
Perhaps construction is recovering faster this time round, but you’d need a crystal ball to predict the economy’s future trajectory.
Yesterday, as widely anticipated, Boris Johnson summarised the government’s strategy for recovery as ‘build, build, build’. There will doubtless be unexpected economic twists and turns, but working together is as crucial as ever, and suppliers must keep in close contact with customers. They’ll then be better able to anticipate future needs, to plan delivery schedules and, for as long as the pandemic allows, to sell, sell, sell.
What are YOU buying for your hire fleet? Email contact@alanguthrieonhire.com and let me know.
