Summertime and the Living is Easy

Or more likely, summertime and my suppliers are closed.

We’ve all been there. We need to expedite a critical part and a quick call to the supplier results in either an endless ring or a recording that the supplier is on summer shutdown for a week or two, or in these days, even more.

One of my first purchasing jobs was to keep track of supplier’s summer shutdowns. Not one job that I remember fondly but an important one none the less. We actually got postcards in the mail announcing the shutdowns. It gave me a career long appreciation of what happens when critical domestic suppliers take a vacation. And we all know that our European suppliers take a real vacation and often shut the door tight for weeks on end. Keep an eye on your Asian suppliers as well.

In this era of shutdowns and furloughs you can bet that many of your suppliers, or their suppliers, will be closing for some period of the summer. Best to be prepared to make alternate arrangements lest you be surprised when no one answers the phone. I’m betting that even the skeletons from the ‘skeleton crews’ will be out on the lake this summer.

Oh….enjoy your vacation!