Unfortunately, the pandemic has made the ability to deliver and sell product that much more difficult—and placed a premium on communication.
Businesses are not always open for visits as they were pre-pandemic, though that may be different for smaller companies with fewer employees and smaller common areas, roundtable participants said.
"Smaller might be easier or more feasible, so the size of the company does make a difference," Eagle said.
Travel remains restricted, though some are seeing it open back up once again, at least in essential instances.
"If it is business-critical, then yes, travel is worth it," said Lisa Solomon, regional sales manager with Bekaert Steel Wire. "But if it is not, then maybe it is being skipped."
Eagle said that less travel has "affected everybody here."
"We should be in Cuyahoga Falls right now," Eagle said, at the in-person Hose and Belt Manufacturers Conference, rather than on the virtual roundtable.
Evonik's Ankur Kant said his business is allowing travel every other week.
"Customers are allowing us to open up a bit," Kant said. "Some projects are being put on hold—but things are starting to open up a little bit."
Solomon said that the notion of "value-added" has a much larger meaning these days.
"With Teams meetings, Zoom calls ... we can make it work," she said. "Ultimately travel will resume—but it hurts relationships in the meantime."
Eagle agreed that face-to-face meetings are critical to cultivating strong relationships.
"It really does have to be more than 'hey, how are you doing?,' " he said.
"There is huge value in face-to-face meetings."
Eagle said that a focus—or a refocus, for that matter—on customer priorities is key.
"I think that what we are up against now we need to focus on priorities, and that's not just looking at production, but really trying to increase communications with customers at the plant level," he said.
"What do they need to run in the next couple weeks? If they need 1, 2 or 3, maybe they can only get 4, 5 or 6. We are trying to stay nimble and flexible. If customers are having trouble getting certain raw materials, that affects what they need from us."
And the lead time delays and supply chain problems—getting product to customers—are not a function of production capacity at the top of the supply chain so much as the supply line conundrum itself, roundtable panelists said.
"The logistical nightmares involving the containers and ports and trucks and lack of availability makes it difficult," Eagle said. "And this is a hard message to deliver to customers. Information changes so frequently, so it is difficult to plan. They seem to be moving targets form week to week."