FRC Suppliers During the COVID-19 Crisis – Quality of Service

Service is the last of our four main topics in our series. When you sign a contract you expect to get a level of service matching the levels proposed. During a crisis, is your supplier able to maintain the same levels of service? Are you noticing a decline in service that’s hindering the results you expected? Is your supplier meeting service guarantees?

Below are five main service-related questions you should be asking to effectively evaluate your supplier during a crisis. Scott Margolin, Vice President of Technical explains:

1) Is a decline in revenue affecting your supplier’s service capabilities?

During the COVID-19 crisis, suppliers are reporting downed revenue of up to 50%, meaning they have only ½ the revenue they budgeted for only six months ago. When revenue is down, corners must be cut. When this happens, quality of service can be negatively affected.

2) Have there been workforce reductions at your supplier?

When revenue is down significantly, companies often enact hiring freezes and conduct layoffs or furloughs. Remaining staff pick up the slack and handle more customers than they are accustomed to handling leading to longer wait times and a reduced level of service, which may impact your business if you cannot get what you need when you need it.

3) Is your supplier still focused on your needs?

Many suppliers have multiple markets in which they work, FRC being only one of many. When a crisis hits – like COVID-19 – your supplier might shift focus to other markets to make up lost revenue. If they transition their main focus away from AR / FR PPE, are you able to get what your workers need to do the job safely?

4) Can your supplier quickly and accurately answer tough crisis-related questions?

COVID-19 is an ever evolving crisis bringing major modifications to how we work. Does your supplier have qualified staff on-hand to answer questions around FRC disinfection, FRC mask-use, and many other safety-related topics? Having an expert in-house who can immediately answer your safety questions can be vitally important to your company’s ongoing success.

5) Does your supplier hold enough inventory so you can safely operate during a crisis?

As we covered in our supply chain post, global supply chains have experienced a major crunch due to COVID-19. Does your supplier have adequate amounts of FRC and PPE on-hand in a domestic warehouse? If not, there could be long waits to receive the FRC and PPE you need to do your job safely.

As we have highlighted in this post, there are a number of areas you may need to assess to effectively evaluate your supplier’s performance if you notice a decline in service. Most of these areas were never a thought before COVID-19 but are now a harsh reality, one which doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

Have serious concerns about your FRC supplier’s ability to maintain their quality of service during a crisis like COVID-19? Reach out to a Tyndale National Account Executive serving your area to discuss and explore options available to meet service needs.