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Some of our customers just want a simple straightforward service from us, they phone us up, tell us what they want and we
deliver it. Other customers want more, and we're very capable when it
comes to giving them more.
Some of our customers seek to guarantee larger stock
requirements by placing fixed-period contracts with us. These contracts
vary a great deal in their nature but usually the objectives are to
lessen the effect of worldwide commodity price movements and to add
greater certainly into material supply chain flows. If a customer is
able to provide us with planned usage volumes we can add these
requirements into the reserved capacity we have with our
key suppliers ensuring the right quantity of
material is available to that customer just when it's needed.
A few of our customers want even more from us! Some of
our major customers have now moved their entire raw material purchasing
function onto the Smiths Supplier Managed Inventory system (SMI).
Operating within this system we take care of all of a customer's raw
material requirements, managing every aspect of their raw materials
inventory. This system provides even greater certainly of supply and
removes large cost elements from the supply chain.
Contractual buying and SMI systems are not for everyone,
however, and Smiths values the customers that choose a simple 'price and
delivery enquiry' relationship just as much as those customer that want
something more from us. The key thing that makes us successful is
matching our capabilities to what our customers want and need.
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