Sometimes advice should be free. 

Obviously the thought of something for nothing is anathema to most businesses. 

After all you cannot pay overpriced Directors their bonuses unless you charge for everything that you do. 

However, it is not always about fees and should be about old fashioned service to your customers. Confidence and trust are investments in the future.

The story

Following a recent newsletter we were  contacted by a client for some advice. 

The fresh air supply system had been balanced but the contractor employed was unable to provide analysis of the resulting data as they had themselves sub-contracted the service. 

Once the data had been provided to RAB a good deal of head scratching took place 

A series of questioning emails later and an anomaly was identified that needed closer inspection. 

Arranging a survey on a "when passing" basis (see what we are doing here), we took 

only 10 minutes to confirm our suspicions that the problem was at the joint between fan & header duct. 

The client was happy to carry out the repairs himself, knowing that RAB could always be called upon to help if he got into difficulties. 

The cost for this assistance - £0.00 because sometimes advice should be free.  
RAB Specialist Engineers - not all contractors are the same. 

Anathema - a person or thing detested or loathed: That subject is anathema to him.

Working the system

In our earlier blogs:

“You cannot always beat the system.” and 

“When the system works for you” 

We talked briefly about the bane of all our lives - procurement procedure, form filling and box ticking. 

Supply chain professionals recognise that life and business is a flexible and fluid entity. 

Just because “we have always done it that way” does not mean that it cannot change. 

In my last organisation my colleagues never looked at alternatives. 

If the file stated that ABC Limited were the company to use then ABC were the only ones to be involved in the contract. 

The fact that they were no longer competitive, reliable, safe and able to do the job correctly did not matter to the paper shufflers who simply wanted an easy life. 

This invariably led to problems and caused many issues which then had to be overcome by someone with a little more sense. New avenues were explored, better service levels were offered and a more satisfactory outcome was created. 

In the world of a new business RAB Specialist Engineers do come up against the former character trait. 

However, if you work hard you can overcome the obstacles placed in your path. 

A little old fashioned service and knowledge goes a long way to proving to people that you actually know what you are talking about and are willing to do a fair days work for a fair days pay. 

By working the system and toeing the line it is possible to overcome the objections from procurement and replace a bad company with a good company. Long may it continue.  

When the system works for you.

Having spent considerable time and resource on getting the RAB message out there it, our last blog commented on how you cannot always beat the system.

It is frustrating to walk through the ever darkening tunnel as "jobs worth" people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobsworth) refuse to give a single thought to a new idea and a fresh approach to doing business.

However, there are always those willing to listen and happy to do business with a company that can back its words with actions.

The light at the end of the tunnel suddenly fills with new orders and all that effort seems worthwhile.

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens is supposed to be the first author to pen the words "Patience is a virtue" but he did not have the vagaries of a procurement supply chain system to fight against.

So, although the system can work against you, it is fantastic when the system works for you.

http://www.rabse.com/

You cannot always beat the system

But never let the system beat you!


It is interesting to have a conversation with a client who advises that:

"We have bench marked you against your former company and you are more expensive"

This is a difficult one to understand when you know that the competitive quote was 25% more than your own. 

In a system so rigid that it cannot accept new businesses, and the opportunities that a new business can bring, you struggle to help some people.

• The end client wants to deal with you. 
• The engineer on site wants to deal with you. 
• The quotation is more competitive and provides a quicker turn around than the competition are able to offer. 

One part of the square missing. Procurement kick backs in rebate offer a year end discount against the competitor quote. Dies this make them more competitive? Nope but it makes procurement look good. 

So how do you overcome this intransigence. 

Easy, work with the end client and engineers to circumvent the system and provide a great product and service anyway.