Notes From The Operations Manager

Focused on the Future

Sometimes, in pursuit of goals, we have to take 10 steps back in order to take 20 forward. I believe this to be true in life and in business.

Recently, we have had several external factors affect our industry, many of which are out of our control. Global economic challenges and trade decisions have resulted in supply issues, increased-costs, and raised-questions on where the tire industry is headed.

Whether you’re a distributor, retailer, or end-user it is important to figure out your next move. However, this next move doesn’t necessarily have to benefit you right now. Considering a choice that results in a short-term loss but ends in a long-term gain is an option that must be weighed. This is something we do all the time when looking at business technology. We measure their risk and upfront investment versus future benefits. Some of these decisions are easier than others, and sometimes we don’t see the value upfront.

In tech, investing in things like additional security monitoring are sometimes questioned and considered to be redundant expenses. Tell that to the companies that were part of the data breaches that exposed 36 billion records in the first half of 2020… and considering the average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million, I am sure the companies who were able to stop this from happening were grateful for the upfront investment or the 10 steps back they took in their not-so-distant past. (cyber stats provided by Risk Based Security & IBM)

We are in an era of instant gratification navigating our business through a time that requires a great deal of patience, a bit of sacrifice, and a strong understanding of where we are and where we want to be. As a member of the Winning Team at Tire Group, I am happy to know that we are looking at the current landscape and thinking of the long-term benefits, not only in sales and procurement but also in operations and technology. When describing the choices we are faced with, Joaquin said it best in his last blog: the decision isn’t for the faint of heart, or those with a short-sided view on their own business.

I share his sentiment, and I look forward to taking 20 steps forward in the not-so-distant future.

Thank you for reading,
Enrique Hernandez