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.covid-19: Armonia's Commercial Director has their say on the client/supplier relationship during the crisis
Charles-Louis Mame, Commercial Director at Armonia, was the guest of the video-conference hosted by the Agora.
published on 05/06/2020
It was the occasion for our Commercial Director to share how the Group has successfully managed the customer/supplier relationship during this confinement. Armonia has more than 3000 customers all over France, from small SMEs to large international Groups, so we are confronted with all kinds of situations.
Benevolence is key.
We find the majority of Soft FM players (customers, suppliers, professional associations) have been able to strengthen partnerships by this simple concept: goodwill. It is a virtuous circle.. A special mention to ARSEG (National Association of Directors of General Services) which, from the beginning of this crisis, mobilised its active members to encourage them to assist their suppliers.
It is in this way, by leveraging a climate of trust, we often manage to find agreements to limit the financial impact of this crisis, as the furlough scheme is far from covering all the fixed costs of our companies.
“We know how to be flexible with our clients”
A distinction must also be made between public and private players, who are not subject to the same rules, and establishments that may also be eligible for ‘force majeure’ (Act of God). All of these situations require constant monitoring by our legal and sales staff. Thus, for example, we can be flexible with our clients in great difficulty by proposing that they pay us a share covering only a remainder of our fixed costs. We also suggest that they extend our partnership beyond the initial term of the contract, enabling our companies to hope to recover the losses linked to this unprecedented crisis over time.
A win-win relationship; this is how we can all, suppliers and principals alike, emerge more balanced from this ordeal and enable our ecosystem to get back on track more quickly.
