Symposium promotes growth

While writing this column, I attended a 3-day symposium hosted by a key customer—a large, growing energy company.

When I received the invitation to the symposium, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was concerned it would be a fancy method for the company to lament the economy and ask for discounts from its vendors. That’s not to mention the timing wasn’t the best, with April being a hectic month for me, professionally and personally. However, my skeptical attitude was soon tempered and I was thankful to have been able to hear their strategy for vendor consolidation and discuss future business opportunities. They informed us that our companies are valued as strategic suppliers and will be relied upon to help the company grow. That was music to my ears.

Another benefit was the opportunity to see detailed presentations that showed how the customer uses components provided by shops like ours. This customer expressed a willingness to have suppliers’ employees, including machinists, visit their facilities to further educate them about the application of their products and their specific needs.

I’ve made it a priority to take advantage of the offer and have our team members go see for themselves how the parts they machine are being used. No doubt this will make our team more eager to produce high-quality components and appreciate those orders even more, because clarifying how those parts are used in the real world generates a level of pride amongst the employees who make them. We all benefit from the resulting technology, and the guys in the shop are responsible for helping to produce products that make a difference in the world.

I should also mention the multitude of important contacts made throughout the event—not only the customer contacts, but also the other suppliers on hand, only a few of whom we knew before the symposium. As suppliers, we discussed our mutual customer and shared information about cultivating their business and effectively servicing them. Some of us had even done business together ourselves, and it was good to see these partners and compare notes. As a result, the other suppliers are certainly better acquainted with our company and its capabilities, and I’ll definitely be reaching out to them and visiting them when time permits.

Did the customer ask its suppliers for better pricing and discounts during the symposium? Of course, but not in the form of a condescending letter demanding immediate 25 percent price reductions, like those received from numerous other customers earlier in the year. This customer is more realistic and requested ideas about increasing efficiencies between our companies and ways to navigate an unpredictable market.

Although this company isn’t our largest customer, it could be one day. Suffice it to say, I was impressed with the quality of their operation and their attempt to continuously improve. They’ll still call with crazy requests and want fast quotes, but so do we when dealing with our own suppliers. I appreciated their recognition of our efforts and will definitely work hard to earn more of their business. We can’t host a supplier symposium, but we can give our key suppliers the kudos they deserve. They put up with a lot from us as well.

Hope your May is profitable! CTE

About the Author: Keith Jennings, president of Crow Corp., Tomball, Texas, a family-owned company focusing on machining, metal fabrication and metal stamping. E-mail: kjennings@jwr.com.