Company Culture and Supply Chain Crisis

Since 2021 we have been facing a Supply Chain Crisis, which still has not been essentially resolved. When dealing with such a crisis, company culture is very important. In Viopol we have experienced the beneficial advantages of having nurtured a truly human headship culture. That means that in Viopol everybody matters. We have a cultivated a working environment of trust that allows people to act without fear of judgment or punishment. That gives way for people to take initiatives, knowing that they have the trust and support of their leader and team members. That makes everyone accountable, taking responsibility of their decisions.

That is of outmost important when actions and decisions have to be made urgently, sometimes instantly, in order to secure supplies and save the day. During the recent supply chain crisis, such decisions and actions had to be made constantly. In a traditional working model, the purchaser has to take the permission of their manager before taking any action. At best, a team meeting had to be made before reaching a decision. Understandably, that causes delays and difficulties in reaching a decision.

In VIOPOL we have laid out as a team clearly our vision and purpose of Creating PURe Value, for our customers, our people, our suppliers and stakeholders. When the supply chain crisis started, we sat down as a team and clearly set out our goals, that was that we had to support our customers by having sufficient material in order to cover their needs. No one was more important than anyone else. We at VIOPOL nourish solely long lasting and mutual beneficial business relationships with our customers and supplies.

When price hikes start to happen almost daily and prices soared beyond expectation, reaching unprecedent levels, our procurement team had the self-confidence to take the necessary actions in order to support our vision and goal. They know that their leader and team members- from production to sales- were on board and supportive. VIOPOL’s culture allows the purchaser in the worst-case scenario to feel accountable rather than ask for permission.

Transparency is also a key ingredient for a successful human leadership. That helped our team a lot during the supply chain crisis. Everybody was informed clearly without any filters, so they know where the team and company is standing and where is it going at each point. This way unpleasant surprises and disappointments are avoided and support and engagement are ensured.

The result for VIOPOL was that during 2021, where the global supply chain crisis, forced a number of companies to stop production for periods of time, in VIOPOL we managed to increase our sales volume by 40%!

In conclusion, developing and cultivating continuously, a truly human leadership culture where everyone matters, is the only effective way to deal with a supply chain crisis. Decisions and actions are taking in an environment of trust and support, where people are encouraged to take initiative.

Christos Kachramanoglou
CEO

Viopol Polyurethane Systems
Creating PURe Value
www.viopol.com