As economic
conditions remain tough more than ever the question of trust is of paramount
importance.
Operating margins
are being squeezed and people are looking for ways to protect their bottom
lines. As we witnessed earlier this year with the furore over horse meat
contamination in “Beef products” there will always be those who disregard
regulations or flout the law in the belief that they will get away with it.
At the time a
government minister stated "People should have absolute
confidence in what they are buying. The responsibility for that lies with the
retailers, who need to be absolutely sure that what they're selling is what
they think it is."
It boils down to
the integrity of the supplier, no matter how many factory audits are conducted
or how many QA questionnaires are completed it is essentially an issue of trust
and reliability.
The same can be
said of the Buyer, if goods are delivered on a credit basis this should mean
that the Supplier has every right to expect that the agreed settlement terms
are adhered to.
A good
relationship / reputation takes time and effort to build and sustain, once
damaged it is hard sometimes impossible to restore.
In the words of
Warren Buffet Warren Buffett - "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that you'll do things differently."
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