Quote:
Originally Posted by Star Ferry
a few days ago I talked to a friend who sat on the national security council (He's not on it right now). What I was told is that it can't all be set up overnight. Kicking out the old middlemen seems simple, but it's not. If it takes 3 weeks, that's 3 weeks too long. So those old distribution channels are still in place. Yet the market demand has changed so much that the channels aren't working as hoped/expected... All I can say is, the fix isn't that simple, but a lot of the decision makers have ideas very close to your post.
|
So essentially this is what is happeing.
3M > Distributor > Broker > Biggest Payer
This is very much like the Rolex issues with AD selling directly to Grays, who then mark it up and offer it to the market at much higher prices.
In the case of the masks, the brokers buy the masks straight from the distributors and the hospitals get cut out. The brokers then sell overseas because they bypass all the price gouging laws and just sell the masks to anyone with cash.
I don't sense any political sway in this video, it just tells it like it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsmKvC7RpEQ
See the problem is that 3M doesn't have any real pressuring leverage against them except for nasty press, but that isn't really getting out.
BUT the leverage against 3M is through their retail channels, namely Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart..
SO....if the government set up accounts to buy the masks through the retail channels, the retailers would then leverage ALL their existing and future 3M business against them...in other words, we get all your masks or you lose
EVERYTHING you sell through our big and numerous box stores. That will get 3M's attention very quickly. The masks hopefully would end up in the "right" places...