How does Santa run an efficient business?
Tis the season to be jolly, but for many companies, this is also the busiest time of the year. Many businesses are reliant on suppliers to complete their year-end successfully. But what happens if one of your suppliers lets you down? Now imagine that you’re Santa. With a multi-billion-pound business, over 85,000 elf employees and probably more than 1,000,000 suppliers, how does Santa manage his business and ensure his suppliers meet their contractual obligations?
Running a global supply chain
Santa’s manufacturing facility, or workshop as it’s more commonly referred, makes over 6 million toys every day of the year and distributes them all in one day; Christmas Eve. To run this well-oiled supply chain, he is reliant on thousands of types of services and products from all over the world. This adds a ginormous complication to the smooth running of his company. He, along with his chief credit manager elf, Mr. Lolli Pops, must be aware of all the rules and regulations for each country they conduct business with. They also need to communicate in over 6,500 languages. That’s a giant mince pie of a challenge!
We reckon, Santa must have an extraordinarily large finance department to keep track of all those invoices and payments. But what do they do if a supplier doesn’t fulfil their contract? What if he can’t get a replacement part for little Timmy’s toy?
Naughty or Nice?
We have no doubt, that supplier will automatically be put on the naughty list! Santa may look jolly, but he is no fool. He is, after all, over 1700 years old and has proven on many occasion that he can roll with the times (you can now send your wish list to him through social media; that’s right, he's on Facebook!).
But with more than 1.9 billion children under 15 in the world, Santa has a lot of customers to satisfy. Quality is of the utmost importance and he cannot afford for any unhappy clients. As an older generation, we know better not to complain to the big guy and risk being put on the naughty list. But a wronged child who has received a shoddy gift? They would have no qualms in making their disapproval public. This would certainly damage Santa’s credibility and reputation and could severely affect his bottom line.
Protection for a global company
Our advice? He should ensure his general terms and conditions are in order and have been fully designed to protect and safeguard his company. Processes and expectations for delivery schedules, quality and returns and refunds should be clearly defined, agreed and set out in his contracts. And if he should have an issue with a supplier, he should get in touch with us. Our international team of lawyers will happily assist him to ensure he continues to deliver on his promise to all the good boys and girls…and us!
If you’re facing similar problems, we can help you too. Why not get in touch with us today? We will alleviate your debt recovery concerns, so you can relax this Christmas. Merry Christmas.
