Imran Safdar
Co-Founder & CEO, Mukamel Facilities Services
The current state of supply chain management is under pressure. Challenges mount each day because purchasing and service sourcing remain largely fragmented. Small and medium-sized enterprises dominate the industry, thriving in part because few existing service providers meet the capability and standards clients expect.
An ideal supply chain partner must demonstrate pricing strength, efficient service, and financial robustness. Their internal supply chains must also have a proven record of delivering consistent results in demanding environments.
The fundamental issue is achieving value for money in markets with low margins and long payment tenures. The FM industry seeks competitive, flexible, and extended credit terms, yet market segmentation and SME dominance create tension. Most SMEs cannot offer comprehensive value across standards, extended tenure, and delivery timelines.
Roadblocks
SMEs are often undercapitalized with limited resources for long credit terms, compliance investment, and research-led improvement — all needed to align services with desired standards. A few capable firms exist, but rigid conditions leave little room for back-to-back terms with principals.
This predicament limits FM companies' flexibility to streamline supply chains. Providers with minimum critical mass face roadblocks securing back-to-back terms against master contracts, often leaving them with higher costs, cash-flow strain, and supplier conflict.
Systemic inefficiencies
Clients, FM companies, and their supply chains all suffer from systemic inefficiency — evidence that the industry has not yet built sustainable supply chains backed by a well-diversified, competent supplier base.
OEMs are deeply embedded in many client organizations from commissioning onward. FM providers must accept rigid terms while managing client sensitivities around business continuity. Industry influence on OEM pricing is limited, and intervention is often resisted by OEMs and clients alike.
The answer is to build in-house supply chain capability that is technically sound, forward-thinking, proactive, and well defined. A structured approach — rather than constant firefighting — creates smoother logistics and more reliable service delivery.