Word on the Street by Kevin Carty
Where Have All the Turnaround Times Gone?
Of course, I say this partially in jest, but boy isn’t it true right now?!?
And please don’t get me wrong. Like you, we are delighted to have the business. As many of you have shared with me this week, everyone is ordering much later this year.
Every morning at Classic, we hold a 15 minute Lead Meeting. It is designed to give the Production Leads and the Purchasing, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Managers a quick review of the day’s business as well as an opportunity to look ahead at upcoming orders, quotes, and purchasing requests.
We use our Shipping Report as our guide in these 15 minute morning meetings. So naturally, I review it before the meeting begins. It looks much different these days than it did this time last year.
As many of you know, Classic Exhibits already has the fastest lead times in the industry, so we are used to being nimble when it comes to your client’s “unrealistic” requests. One of the ideals we adhere to in Production is: “Do enough of tomorrow’s work today, so that when tomorrow goes to hell or someone has a rush need, we are prepared to handle it.”
Sometimes even I forget these basic ideals. But I am always amazed by how our Production and Customer Service teams live by them. Looking at the Shipping Report this week, I have seen everything from 10 x 10 Visionary Designs Custom Hybrids with 4 day turnaround times to a Euro LT 20 x 30 Island that has to deliver in 8 days. It’s crazy! And yet . . .
We make it happen!
Now, to be fair to our Project Management and Production team, this is not a invitation to hammer our lead times. We do everything we can to meet your requests, which you already know, but when we say, “Sorry” which is very, very rare, or when we add rush charges, you know those are real and not arbitrary.
That said, we are very happy to have the business and even happier to see Classic Distributors busy.
Have a safe and restful weekend.
Be Well!
–Kevin Carty
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