CORONAVIRUS (COVID 19) INFORMATION FOR CUSTOMERS
As the novel coronavirus (COVID 19) situation develops, our first priority is ensuring the health and wellbeing of our own employees, the employees of our customers and our supply chain.
Accordingly, we have established a working group internally and are closely monitoring the updates from the government and following the latest advice from the Chief Medical Officers.
All of our employees have been provided with the latest government guidance and we have appropriate measures in place to facilitate alternative working arrangements if and when these are required.
At this stage, our office location remains open for business as usual although we have advised our employees to limit travel and avoid non-essential travel.
We will keep this under review but we do not anticipate these measures having any detrimental impact on our ability to support our customers, including on-site support visits where required.
We are requesting all of our customers and suppliers to support these efforts to ensure business continuity by advising their own employees to follow the latest government guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ In relation to our supply chain, we are continuing our ongoing discussions with our manufacturers and suppliers to understand the impact on their operations in China and worldwide.
Business continuity plans are being put into effect and we have assurances from our key suppliers and manufacturers that they are taking the necessary actions to mitigate any negative impacts on customers, including using their global manufacturing and distribution networks to source and transport stock.
Based on the latest information available from our suppliers and manufacturers, we are expecting a short-term impact on production output from manufacturing facilities in the affected regions.
This in turn may impact lead times but the exact impact will vary across product lines.
We will continue to monitor updates from our supply chain as the situation develops. If you have concerns about any critical suppliers being affected, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can work with you to understand your requirements and the best available options. This could include leveraging our distribution network to help mitigate any potential delays, bringing forward routine stock orders, or reviewing alternative in-stock options.
We may also be able to secure flexible finance arrangements to help bridge any budget gaps as a result of bringing forward stock orders. As always, we’re here to help you through this period.
We will update this document in line with feedback but if you have any specific questions or concerns, please speak to your CBC account manager.