How would you define a reliable supplier for manufacturers? How has this changed since 2020?
Greg Williams: The essentials will always remain – the ability to solve a problem or leverage a solution, on-time and on-budget, plus the required cyber security and compliance safeguards and certifications. A partner that has been around for a long time and has a strong presence across markets is also important. No one wants to risk working with a supplier that might go out of business in a few years or will struggle to scale across a customer’ s business as they grow.
Stephan Pottel: Things have changed since 2020. The pandemic sparked the pivot to remote work and factory site closures for public health reasons, and disrupted supply chains. Since then, manufacturers have faced new competitors at a regional and global level, natural disasters and conflicts, changes in consumer demand, tariffs and precarious labour hiring for skilled workers. Today’ s partners are navigating these issues with their manufacturing customers with better solutions that offer the flexibility and scale manufacturers need, and better support in terms of customer service, repair, maintenance and account management.
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