Thanks to the 14 who joined us last month. We hit some really meaty topics and had opinions across the board on some.
Note Summary
Tariffs
- Majority of the market is limiting quote timeframes are adding language that the quote is subject to change based on tariffs
- Many quotes have expiration dates
- The market seems to be largely on this side
- Many suppliers are adding surcharges
- Administrative issues in implementing the pricing changes depending upon the system, some found it challenging, while other systems were easier
Evaluating customer performance
- Note: There was no discussion about specific pricing practices, this was more conceptual on rating customers in certain areas, mostly surrounding credit risk
- Certain industries are more susceptible to transactional situations and more likely for slow pay/no pay (bars, restaurants, breweries, scrappers, cannabis – more heavily scrutinized vs B2B industrials
- Other criteria – ease of delivery/time on site, name/reputation in the market, clean business, D&B, proprietary credit models
- Many are attempting to or already have started monitoring how long at customer sites through Tims or other scheduler systems (i.e. cost per delivery)
- More flexibility provided to the customers with more desirable characteristics
Company cars vs vehicle reimbursement
- Philosophies vary significantly, but most would like to trend to a reimbursement model
- Reasons for
- Reimbursement – lower the risk (not taking on 24/7 employee exposure), less management, meet people where they’re at (if they want another ride, they can get it…within parameters)
- Company car – company wants specific trucks for a consistent look, marketing/branding, fleet safety technology (more difficult argument for GPS/cameras in personal vehicle), “keeping good talent” (debatable)
- Roadblocks: Management/ownership believing that they’d “lose” good people over not providing a car
- Many on the call transitioned to reimbursement and no one lost someone as a result
Topics for next discussion – April 23
- Nitrogen slow payer update
- Fire loss – lessons learned from a CFO’s perspective
- Payroll software provider discussion – who sucks less
- Tariff discussion evolution
As always, let me know if there are topics on your mind you’d like to discuss. Looking forward to the April discussion! Have a great week out there!
Future CFO Club Meetings
- 4/23 CFO Club – 2 EST/11 PT
- 6/18 CFO Club – 11 EST/8 PT (sliding back to the old time)
Tony Hopkins
Tony has also realized that talking a good game is not enough. The true mark of a professional is execution. Horton achieves this through a process which consistently delivers on promises made and holding themselves accountable. “Once a plan is established, we are committed to plan execution. Our team functions as an extension of our clients operations; we are just as invested in their success as our own – their goals are our goals,” says Tony.
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