April 11, 2025: Understanding Procurement
Happy Friday, or Happy Monday if you're reading this next week. I'm coming to you a bit late today because my working hours may not be the same as your working hours.
When I said last week I'd talk about tariffs this week, I didn't anticipate how much people already hate hearing that word (myself included). Most of my interactions with aquatic industry clients and colleagues this week suggest that it's starting to feel like COVID 2.0 where there's so much uncertainty day-to-day with endless updates and changes that it's difficult to track what's actually going on. To that end, my thoughts jotted down last week are now completely irrelevant.
What is still relevant is a great post Jon Keller, CEO of Life Floor, posted on LinkedIn. He's given me permission to reshare it here.
One of the points I would like to make is that we should all be looking at our procurement, period.
I recently spoke with someone who had a very bad experience with one of the famous Canadian water slide manufacturers. If I were to make the blanket statement "buy Canadian!" in light of tariffs, that would not account for the weight of the recent experience this particular facility had and how that informs my own opinions or recommendations.
I say in the Certified Pool Operator (CPO) class all the time that my role as a consultant is to be impartial (that's why we don't take any financial compensation from brands) and evaluate a project or pool problem based on current conditions. Whether those be community needs, program needs, operational needs or financial needs, it does mean we need to start thinking critically about all of our purchasing decisions.
Is that exhausting? Of course. That's why so many municipalities come up with procurement policies that simplify the decision making into a matrix that prioritizes using local service providers, domestic suppliers and/or preapproved vendors through a points system. However, there are times such as unforeseen urgency or product uniqueness when we go to great lengths to order from overseas.
I'll be the first to admit that prior to going to IAAPA in November I had a bias against some of the international water slide manufacturers. Arihant. Polgun. Polin. Was that justified? Probably not. Now it's up to me to go out and learn more about these products and services because maybe, I too, was taken in by the marketing budgets of geographically proximate suppliers leveraging their little red maple leaf. You're only as good as your last sale or project.
Do I have any actionable advice for you regarding tariffs? Try to see the forest for the trees. What will be the impact of this decision in 1, 3 or 5 years? Everyone is struggling with costs. Downgrade a project, don't halt it - nothing will be cheaper in 1, 3 or 5 years... of that I am certain. Also, pool projects have so many different moving parts that once you reprice everything, it may not be quite as bad as you think.
One last point: a lot of these large companies still need to make their monthly overhead commitments (payroll, rent, utilities, supplies), so there may be opportunities to work with vendors to share cost increases if you guarantee that you're not pulling the plug on a project completely. As a business owner, I can tell you that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Commitments now may warrant concessions that future commitments do not.
Aquatic industry news this week -
EMPIRE OF SURF - Episode 1
This video is a bit disorganized (there's not a clear narrative for people coming from outside of the surf park world), but it does give you some idea of what's going on in this segment of our industry.
Swimming adds 50m breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke to the Olympic programme for LA 2028
'Pre-tariff pricing': Local pool industry adjusts to tariffs
A great example of purchasing ahead to stock product at existing, pre-tariff pricing.
Miami Beach reaches $2 million settlement after drowning in city pool
I have been so impacted by this story as I've followed it over the last two years. The summer camp leader went to work on his day off because he liked his campers so much he wanted to be there for their last day. I will see if more details have become available as part of the legal settlement and do a video for our YouTube Channel.
Voters reject Ravensong Aquatic Centre referendum
Just the Facts: Legionellosis, Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever
If you're not sure what legionella is, this is a good opportunity to brush up on the facts.
Aquarabia (Qiddiya) videos
Behind-the-scenes posts from workers building Aquarabia at Qiddiya Theme Park in Saudi Arabia have started to pop up on social media.
Watch Rami Malek Explode a Pool in ‘The Amateur’
This is set at the Sky Pool in London, infamously spanning two high-rise buildings.
Carnival reveals some details about new Excel ships – including their names
So far, I've been loyal to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, but these pool decks look pretty incredible.
Caught on camera: Man jumps off 4-story apartment building into shallow pool in Fort Myers
This many is lucky he is not paralyzed.
City considering waiving military usage fees for new indoor pool, which is operating at a deficit since opening
I was just in Montana at Malmstrom AFB last week. They only have an outdoor pool.
From Afghanistan to Ottawa, a mother and daughter find hope in City swimming
At least 4,000 children died on migration routes since 2014 as aid cuts threaten to drive up fatalities
We obsess about tracking drowning fatalities on land (pools, bath tubs, lakes) but think nothing of migration or transportation-related deaths on open water.
Float Safe
I love this in-land lifejacket loaner station! The coat rack is a great idea.
This week marks a year that we've been sending out the revamped, weekly POOLaide newsletter! Thank you for continuing to allow me to take up space in your inbox. I appreciate your continued support.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
Please note we'll be skipping this newsletter next Friday, April 18 (Good Friday). We'll be back on Friday, April 25.