It's a recurring theme for a salesperson to appear periodically with the proposal of an urgent need to address. Whether it's chocolates, hardware supplies, furniture for a resort, textiles, or any type of consumables or decorations. Large volume, ample margin, and some strange circumstances, be it a spontaneous client, a project from a well-known group but on an unknown subsidiary, or a distant country.

 

99% of these deals fall through, but at JORI&, we feel the need to utilize our resources before dismissing any possibility for the client. There's no room for hesitation; rather, one must act decisively and diligently to not miss out on the opportunities that arise, as they rarely come twice (Instituto Cervantes).

 

In this particular case, it involved a client with a large civil engineering project facing credit difficulties, susceptible to bankruptcy. The product's characteristics – design, functionality, performance guarantee, and price – were optimal to be among the referenced suppliers for the order. Simultaneously, the industrial references were also favorable, with production capacity, deadline compliance, and delivery arrangements.

 

After a detailed analysis defining the inherent risks of the operation, its assessment, and the search for mitigants, the ultimate competitive advantage to secure the order lay in the decision to arrange credit insurance coverage (single buyer m/l) for the contract, allowing:

 

  1. Covering the manufacturing risk (unilateral contract cancellation), enabling not demanding a significant upfront payment, to the detriment of competitors.
  2. Establishing non-cancelable coverage for the duration of the operation.
  3. Discretionary extension capability sufficiently broad to handle contingencies without straining the business relationship.
  4. Assigning a financial entity as the beneficiary allowed structuring a pre-post financing operation for the total amount under preferential conditions.
  5. Providing the required bid bonds and performance bonds, with the assurance of having coverage against wrongful executions of guarantees within the insurance contract.
  6. Structuring payment deadlines – starting from delivery milestones – sufficiently extended, once again, to the detriment of competitors' conditions.
  7. In addition to commercial risk, political risks were also covered.

 

Certainly, there were delays in the operation. Yes, problems and tense moments occurred. Yes, additional extensions had to be requested from the insurer, and the contract had to be modified, but despite all, we succeeded. Decision and diligence allowed the product to now shine in the client's facilities, resulting not only in a fantastic operation but also a success story that truly makes us proud. The ancient Romans depicted the goddess Occasion with abundant hair and entirely bald from behind, symbolizing the impossibility of grasping opportunities once they have passed.