Kaelis takes steps to lessen coronavirus strain
Onboard products supplier Kaelis announced today the steps it was taking internally and for its customers to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In September, the company, encouraged customers to place their call-offs and orders or give the company consumption forecasts for all their needs until May 2020 in order to plan and manufacture all merchandise before Chinese New Year (January 2020).
“This measure that some find unusual is part of our policy of planning the possibility of potential disruptions that can happen during this busy period. Special attention is given to fulfilment of proper security stock levels when requested by customers,” said the company in a release today
As soon as the outbreak was known in the city of Wuhan, China, Kaelis moved the production it had in the area to other areas of the country. Kaelis’ CEO, Supply Chain Director and Procurement Manager created a follow-up committee that has been meeting regularly every week to discuss all projects.
Last month factories in China started opening with two to four weeks delay. It is estimated that they will only reach full capacity at the end of March, said Kaelis. Due to the measures taken in September 2019, the company says impact is minimum. In the few cases that deliveries are affected, Kaelis carries a policy of total transparency, informing customers of the delays weeks or even months ahead as soon as it is known.
In some cases, alternative factories outside China are used when necessary and possible.
At it’s headquarters Kaelis implements a work at home policy for the maximum number of employees based at its Madrid Headquarters. Today, the company said 90 percent of our employees are working from home after having taking the following measures:
- Kaelis CRM/ERP is based in Salesforce.com platform which is cloud based. All company operations can be controlled and accessed through any computer or even mobile device in the world. The company has been the system since 2007;
- All Kaelis files and documents are stored in cloud based Google Drive;
- Internal communications are carried out via Google Mail and Slack;
- Corporate mobile phones with all necessary applications have been given to all members of the team that are homeworking;
- All internal and external meetings are carried out via audio or video conferencing; and
- Succession plans are put in place for all departments.
Additionally, Kaelis has requested their suppliers to provide contingency plans to guarantee service.
