April 2020 UK Procurement Panic

Have you ever imagined the end of the world? Robots, zombies or nuclear war as the reason for humans extinction. 

In 2020, a silent and deadly killer is on the loose. When nature fought back, how did people react? 

February 27th 2020 feels like a lifetime ago now. I was at Manchester Airport presenting a seminar to school business managers at the Radisson Blu Hotel. 

My procurement seminar was all about negotiation, one of my favourite topics of discussion.

​In my seminar I explained the laws of supply and demand and the impact supply and demand had on price.

​At the time I used the price of limes on New Years Eve as my example. If I delivered my seminar again I would use toilet rolls. 

Little did I know, (when I wrote the seminar) just how relevant my seminar was going to be against the tsunami of price hikes, driven by a global pandemic. 

Indeed I received direct feedback from an attendee that my seminar had proved 'invaluable' to them during the first national lockdown.  

​To this day, I'm unsure why the public chose toilet rolls to make them feel safe. Hoarding pasta, flour and tinned tomatoes makes more sense. 

Hopefully all the attendees at my seminar put into practice what they learnt on that day, when the world was still normal.
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About the Author

Naomi Clews

Naomi Clews, management consultant and owner of boutique procurement advisory firm Naomi Clews Consultancy Limited has 30 years purchasing and supply chain management knowledge, experience and skills. Find out more here. ​