YES. To developing new supply sources.
As product developers who are also responsible for raw materials, we are therefore on the front line when it comes to the broad positioning of CHT and the development of new sources of supply. Even when that means research projects must temporarily be pushed to the background and top priority accorded to approving new raw material samples.
New commodity alternatives thanks to cross-team collaboration
This is a big challenge, as the predominantly affected materials are basic commodities that are processed in multiple production stages to make many different downstream products. No one person alone can keep track of everything. The outstanding cooperation at CHT between Supply Chain Management, Strategic and Operative Purchasing, the Development departments, Production, Product Safety and business and application fields is our decisive advantage in this regard. The extraordinary dedication of all these teams enabled us to approve around 50 new alternative raw materials in 2021 alone. This is a great success – one that we can all be proud of, and upon which we of course want to continue to build in 2022!
Crisis as opportunity
From my personal perspective, I can say that a crisis like this is also an opportunity for us to grow as a team. For me as an executive, this means that I have to be prepared to deal with changes flexibly, respond accordingly, assume responsibility, and deliver results. When my team has a heavy workload, I of course must set clear priorities and communicate decisions effectively, while focusing on the well-being of my team members. That way, we can ensure that everyone is on board and that we’re headed in the right direction together.
In this extraordinary time, there is always something new to learn and improve. This will no doubt benefit us in our research and development work as soon as the global supply chains have stabilised.
