Liquidity crisis - how well are you positioned?

As the Banks continue to labour under the weight of their previous errors the knock on effects are percolating down through the economy.

We are already seeing a reduction of loans to companies in the face of tightening liquidity – now is the time to take a long hard look at your Company’s financial situation.

Any approach to your Bankers could be very uncomfortable in the current climate so it is necessary to demonstrate you have full control of your exposure. Make sure that the Debtors book makes for healthy reading and that inventory control and stock turn are being monitored very closely.

Ironically it is the activities of Banks themselves who have once again precipitated the impending crisis but that will not prevent them from playing hard ball with anyone trying to seek support for additional funding in the current climate.

Banks – horrible sense of déjà vu

The Global stock markets continue their gyrations and once again it is the Banks under the spotlight.

Many of us find it incomprehensible that despite all the evidence to the contrary the Banks still seem to behave with a staggering arrogance towards their Shareholders and their Customers alike.

The level of their incompetence is only matched by the level of their arrogance.

Whilst the would be Masters of the Universe dream up more and more exotic financial instruments destined to lose more money their counter parts at retail level have turned Branches into a cross between a Disneyland and a Fast Food Outlet complete with piped muzak and garish Staff uniforms.

Who on earth has dreamt up this theme park approach to Banking? I don’t want to become friends with the Bank’s representative extolling me to “have a nice day” I just want a good professional service.

As we are witnessing yet again, the Corporate Bankers are even more incompetent, it’s just that there rewards are more lavish. Is it any wonder we find ourselves once again staring into the abyss when the calibre of these Bankers is so poor. Bear in mind the European Banks now have an estimated exposure of £258 billion arising from the Debt Crisis.

 Would you really feel confident sending them out to get you a sandwich?

Far from letting them have access to more money to fritter away we would be better off giving them a payment to go now before they wreak any more damage.

Do you know your Customers?

This week in keeping with every financial crisis, the latest media reports have been highlighted by scenes of earnest young men and women staring intently at their computer monitors as the latest wave of red flood across their screens. It is has become a far too familiar shorthand for financial Armageddon.

In a few short years, rapid advances in technology have transformed the way we all conduct business.

Whilst we watch the scenes unfold in this virtual world we should never forget that essentially commerce is about people trading together.

Whilst Computer “stop loss” mechanisms are the order of the day for “paper trading” the reality of the real world is that goods need to be moved from point of production to point of consumption and obviously this cannot  be achieved via a computer terminal.

There is an old adage “know your customer,” this dictate has never been more important than in these uncertain and dangerous times. One of the biggest problems associated with the rise of e-commerce has been the accompanying lack of personal contact between a company and its customers.

Obviously this is not an issue for an online retailers selling products over the net and being paid via a Debit Card or Pay Pal etc.

However, there is an increasing tendency for B2B sales to be concluded by email or even SMS. The personal element has been lost and so has the identity and customer relationship. The surest way to avoid problems is by knowing your customer and understanding their business.

It is not possible to nurture this relationship and mutual understanding thru a key pad and email ordering system.

Low cost entry into the UK market

The UK offers a very attractive market for companies wishing to export their products. Counter party risk is identifiable and can be successfully managed.

However one barrier may be the perception of high operating costs.

There is no doubt that to commission and run a UK operation can prove a costly commitment. The lists of outgoings such as rent, communications, staffing costs are daunting, particularly in a start up situation where income streams are lagging far behind these costs.

This is where we can assist you, as an established independent company, we have experience of representing overseas organisations in marketing product into the UK.

In addition to opening up new markets for your products and services we can also police the all important areas of logistics and payment of your invoices.

An introduction to our activities can be seen on our web site www.glbconsulting.co.uk or alternatively why not contact me at gordon.blackburn1@btinternet.com to arrange a meeting to discuss how we assist you in entering the UK market.

Customer service - getting the balance right

The old adage the Customer is always right has come in for a fair amount of criticism recently and there are many times when plainly the Customer is in the wrong.

Notwithstanding it is of paramount importance to the sustained growth of any business that the Customer is kept onside.

One sector that has drawn much negative comment recently is Banking. It will not have come as any surprise that recent figures released by the FSA, showed that in the first 6 months of 2011 Barclays Bank received 251,563 complaints, with 53% of closed cases upheld in customers' favour.

Other Banks also racked up equally impressive levels of Customer complaints.

The key requirement that any Customer wants is to feel that his/her business is valued and appreciated.

 In business securing the deal is only the start of the process and the repeat order very often stands or falls with the after sales service (or lack thereof).

Simple but effective measures such as ensuring all contracts are performed efficiently and within due time and that any complaints are handled promptly and with courtesy will go a long way to building and maintaining long lasting relationships.

We have all encountered the difficult Customer with whom it would be easier not to deal. However, in these difficult times there are many who would willingly take this “problem” and revenue off of your hands.

Time wasters - Don't you just hate them?

The life of a Consultant is certainly not without its frustrations but undoubtedly the most irksome is the prevalence of the “time waster”.

Picture the scenario - contact is made by a company who wishes to engage the services of a Consultant to address the problems within their organization. The Consultant spends time studying the brief and formulating a strategy for tackling these problem issues.

At the end of this initial process (often involving a series of meetings) it appears that it’s all systems go - then the Client goes cold - the time waster has reared his head again.

It is an all too familiar story - the troubled company appreciates it has problem areas but when faced with an objective assessment it is all too easy to duck the issue and try to muddle through.

The downside for the troubled company is this inertia will in most cases signal the slide into administration and or liquidation.

If you need an assessment of your business and (and I take it as a given that you are serious!) then why not check out my profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonblackburn or contact me at gordon.blackburn1@btinternet.com

Where's the money gone?

Particularly in these difficult times, it is staggering that so many companies be they large or small fail to keep a control of their inventories. Whilst Management consistently push for increased sales performance, the question of housekeeping is often put on the back burner or it would appear totally neglected.

This laissez faire attitude is in evidence across the board, recently the National Audit Office having investigated the UK Ministry of Defence flagged up a lack of evidence about the existence and value of some £6.3bn of assets - including £752m of military equipment, which includes firearms and £184m of Bowman radios. The scale of this ineptitude beggars belief.

As far back as 2008-9, auditors had raised concerns about inventory accounts and warehouse systems and checks had been improved, but they had found that the inventory recorded did not match the stock count at 29% of locations. 

This begs the question: how comfortable are you with your Stock and Debtors controls?

 It might be timely to conduct a pre-emptive review of your operating systems now rather than wait for the post mortem results.