The Need For Tweed

So much so, that now long-established UK customers with not insignificant orders are being told to wait 6 months, because, well the Japanese are buying it all. I don’t know too many production runs that can wait this long to satisfy an order and turn stock into positive cash flow to run their business. And still expect to be in business and retain clients demanding timely turn-around to manage their businesses.

Seems a tad disloyal not to honor repeat orders from loyal customers, with the extended lead time tantamount to saying you are not important enough any more. And at the same time forcing them to look elsewhere – plenty of other ‘tweeds’ to choose from after all. 

One can understand no one wants to turn away the really big customer who wants hundreds of thousands of meters, not just the paltry tens of thousands. But it sort of harks back to the race to the bottom, chasing the margins game that helped to put a lot of UK manufacturers out of business. If there is no supply-chain loyalty, all the businesses that are built around common suppliers start to suffer as ‘business goes elsewhere.’ Rather than invest in the sustainability of maintaining the supply network to help grow an industry from the grass roots, supported by those loyal to using UK made products.

Haven’t we learned this lesson yet?

By Paul Markevicius