JIM is a good-natured and ambitious senior buyer at Conrad Co., a semiconductor equipment manufacturer based on the West Coast. His boss, MARK, a no-nonsense VP with an unfortunate habit of spitting when he speaks, enters JIM’s office.
JIM: (smiling) Mark! Thought you might come by.
MARK: (spitting, angrily) You did? I hope you’ve got a good answer to my question, then.
JIM: Wha…what’s the question?
MARK: We’re lines down, Jim. Where are the cable assemblies?
JIM: Those were supposed to arrive yesterday. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.
MARK: You’d better. This can’t keep happening.
JIM: Understood. I’ll take care of it.
JIM waits for MARK to leave. But MARK stays in the office, his arms crossed. He makes a gesture with his hand, telling JIM to go ahead, get to work.
JIM: Right, um. I’ll call them.
MARK: Now there’s an idea.
JIM dials the number of his cable assembly supplier. He’s put on hold, which involves a garbled recording of a modern folk-rock loop played on repeat. JIM whistles along with the melody, staring at MARK. MARK stares back.
JIM: Looks like I’m on hold.
MARK: Right.
MARK leaves the office, slamming the door behind him. The music repeats itself in short loops.
JIM arrives home to see HELEN, his wife, a very busy and ambitious woman juggling her career and mothering her six children, anxiously waiting for JIM. She’s dressed up and running late for a PTA meeting.
HELEN: (annoyed) I’m so late. Jim, where have you been?
JIM: I’m sorry, honey.
They give each other a quick kiss. HELEN notices that JIM seems down.
HELEN: (hesitant) Good day?
JIM: Not at all.
HELEN: Oh?
JIM: Just this cable assembly supplier, Super Cables. We had to shut down production because they lied about their delivery date. AGAIN. And the last time they sent us cable assemblies, they were wrong, and I’m just- this can’t happen again.
HELEN: Okay. What are you doing about it?
JIM: I mean what can I do? I need those cable assemblies. They left me on hold for 30 minutes, then promised that they’d arrive “soon.” I don’t even know what “soon” means.
HELEN is quiet. She reaches over to place her hand on JIM’s cheek.
HELEN: Sweetie. You’re Senior Buyer Jim. Remember when you called that supplier on our first date? They sent you a bunch of bad components, so you were screaming at them between the salads and entrees. You must’ve had them sweating. It’s been too long since I’ve seen that side of you. I miss it. I miss my husband.
JIM: (on the verge of tears) I know you do. I’ll handle it.
HELEN: You will. But you’re right — this can’t happen again. I have to go, but we can talk more soon.
HELEN leaves. JIM stays standing, looking helpless.
Later that night, JIM is brushing his teeth in the bathroom, scrolling his phone. HELEN is in bed, also scrolling her phone.
JIM: (With a mouth full of toothpaste, running out to HELEN) Ugu gutta eh!
HELEN: Jim. If it’s another spider in the sink I’ll…
JIM rushes to the bathroom, spits out his toothpaste and returns to HELEN.
JIM: I think I’ve got it! I just saw this video for another cable assembly supplier. Funny name: Multi-Tek. I’m looking through their stuff, and I think they could be the answer.
HELEN: Well, what are you gonna do about it?
JIM: I already requested a quote. They said they’ll get back to me tomorrow morning.
HELEN: That’s my Senior Buyer.
They embrace.
A mysterious man with a particularly loud and radio-friendly voice steps on stage.
THE MYSTERIOUS MAN: So, audience, what was the video that changed Jim’s whole career at Conrad Co.? Let’s take a look for ourselves.
THE MYSTERIOUS MAN: When Jim found Multi-Tek, he found a cable assembly partner that took his business as seriously as they do theirs. That meant a 99.8% on-time delivery rate, unparalleled responsiveness, and even a few surprises. Let’s see what happened next.
A couple of months later, MARK enters JIM’s office again. JIM is rearranging his desk
JIM: Mark! What can I do for you?
MARK: (spitting, happily) Absolutely nothing Jim. I just wanted to let you know that these new design revisions are fantastic. How’d you do it?
JIM: It’s our new supplier, Multi-Tek. They gave us some design suggestions and I checked them with our guys in engineering. The new designs aren’t just cheaper. They’re way more resilient than the old ones.
MARK: And we’ve cut cable costs in half. Nice.
JIM: They arrive faster, too. Remember last month, when we needed extras on short notice? I called our contact at Multi-Tek and he got them over to us ahead of schedule. We don’t even have to double-check the assemblies anymore. Our guys say they’ve never found a single bad one in the bunch.
MARK: Good stuff. Jim, drop by my office after lunch. I want to talk about something with you.
JIM: Definitely.
MARK leaves. JIM smiles to himself as he uses a Kleenex to wipe the spit off his desk.
Later that day, JIM arrives home to find HELEN sitting on the couch, watching TV.
HELEN: How was work?
JIM: (seriously) Sweetie, I’m not Senior Buyer Jim anymore.
HELEN is caught off guard. She reaches for the remote to turn down the volume.
HELEN: Oh no. Well, screw Mark anyways. You did your best. We’ll find something.
JIM: I’m Director of Procurement Jim.
HELEN’s mouth widens. She’s speechless. Then starts to squeal with joy, as DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT JIM rushes to the couch to give her a hug.
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