We’re only as good as our partners

By Kim Browne

Over time we’ve realised we’re really only as good as our trusted supply partners. The people, companies, teams, organisations and others we work with to ensure we can deliver the goods for our own valued clients, are crucial to the continued success of our own business. Without those dedicated to help us we simply can’t operate.

Recently a sign appeared on the job list board in our design studio: “0 days without an accident urgent email”. This notice says it all. We’re in the business of solving our clients’ problems and providing rapid solutions for their most pressing issues. But we can’t do it alone. We depend on our long list of trusted partners to help us when we need it most.

The client/supplier relationship is one we value dearly. In a world continuously edging to cheaper and faster, our philosophy of better costs more has stood us in good stead. Goedkoop truly is duurkoop (cheap works out nasty in the end).

By being able to rely on our group of supplier partners, we can confidently offer a wide range of products and services we manage on behalf of our clients. We know who to call and call we do. Often.

In the fickle marketplace of today values such as trustworthiness, generosity, credibility, transparency, integrity and respect can get lost in the bustle of commerce. It’s therefore important to us to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have worked with almost all of our suppliers for seven years or more. Trust and reliability is earned and nurtured over time. It can’t be bought and doesn’t let you down.

We also hope that we can be a trusted partner to the clients who choose to work with us. Through thick and thin, we aim to also stand by those who work with us to achieve our lofty goals together.

So, as we stand on the edge of glorious summer at the southern tip of Africa, we salute our suppliers, our clients and our friends.

A toast from The Toast.