"People stay in bad relationships because they think they can fix things and change it into a good relationship. They won't leave until they realise they deserve better, and they realise that things won't change."
Sonya Parker
Commentary - July 2022
Are you in a mutually beneficial relationship with your manufacturer?
Here, at Balmoral, we don’t rest on our laurels, whether that’s pushing forward with new products and investments or with any of our key client relationships. In fact, in the last four years we have invested more than $30m in our state of the art glass fused to steel and fusion bonded epoxy tank manufacturing facility.
We take nothing and no one for granted; do you feel your current supplier takes you for granted?
When considering your response to the wider question above, we ask you to weigh up these questions:
- Is your current manufacturer able to support and service your current and future growth ambitions?
- Do you feel your current manufacturer truly values your business?
- Does your current manufacturer take time to understand what you need from them, not just what they want from you?
- Do you ever receive credit for the revenue you create for them?
- If you were starting from scratch, would you choose your current manufacturer?
- Do you work with your current manufacturer purely out of habit rather than any driving business case, product innovation or other such motivation?
If your response to any of the first five questions is ‘no’, then it might be time to investigate other options.
As a manufacturer of a globally purchased product, we receive lots of feedback, both on our own performance and that of our competitors. In every case, and with this sentiment being at the very heart of the Balmoral brand, we view all feedback as a gift.
Our Chairman is very clear on this point: “Our perception of ourselves does not matter a bit. There is only one perception that counts, and that is the one our clients have of us”.
To that end, we pose the $64,000 question; is your perception of your current supply chain as strong as it should be?
If it is, then long may that continue. If, however, you have doubts on that point, then why not open your horizons up to working with a manufacturer that would truly value your business, would genuinely take time to understand your needs before its own and accept that your brand is as important to you as ours is to us?
On the sixth question concerning habit, we build on our Chairman’s thinking at every opportunity including our in-house Leadership Academy sessions. The text below is an extract from the type of scenario we pose to our current and potential leadership teams:
Every organisation exists because of the customer; the end user who consumes or uses the product or service supplied. Although the logic of this importance of the customer is impossible to deny, the behaviour of many individuals and even organisations suggests that they do not recognise it.
What is the consequence of this type of thinking?
If you are tired and frustrated with your current manufacturer, or just want to explore what is changing in the bulk liquid storage market, why not consider joining the Balmoral Growth Initiative? Please contact me with no obligation: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You will find us trusted, innovative and collaborative.
Join the Balmoral growth initiative
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