Juan José Piedrahita OWNER, ORGANIZACIÓN EQUITEL

What was Organización Equitel’s experience with the pandemic like?

We have been working on our culture for 25 years. Our culture has two main purposes, and the first is our people—our team members. Our second purpose is our methodology, which is to pursue our customers’ productivity. We do not like to sell products; we like to engage in our customers’ business and productivity. When the pandemic came, our culture drove us through it. We focused on three main goals. The first was taking care of our people, namely their health, families, and wellbeing. Our second goal was the wellbeing and economic stability of our organization and its members. We then focused on taking care of our cash flow and resources, ensuring our core business continued to run; and thinking about the opportunities and the new things we could create with the same resources, cash flow, and people.

How will you ensure Organización Equitel maintains the efficiencies it gained in 2020 going forward? What goals and expectations do you have for the future?

Our main focus today is getting sufficient supplies because there is a huge break in the global supply chain. Today, our suppliers are unable to supply us with even 50% of what we order. Logistics is one major challenge that is affecting most companies today. We have a whole new world now economically, politically, and, most importantly, in terms of consumers’ perception. Businesses have to understand how to serve their customers in accordance with the new way of life.