How do you maintain supplier and customer confidence during a public restructuring to preserve going-concern value?

Suppliers and customers can kill a turnaround faster than creditors: suppliers move to cash-on-delivery or stop supplying, and customers defect to 'safer' competitors — both erode the very revenue and cash the plan relies on. Preserve confidence by communicating proactively and credibly: explain that the restructuring is to secure the long-term future, that operations and obligations continue, and back it with evidence (committed financing/DIP, continued service levels). For critical suppliers, secure ongoing supply on revised but defensible terms (covered earlier) without illegally preferring old debt. For customers, reassure on continuity of delivery, warranties, and support, and protect SLAs. Mobilize the commercial teams and consistent messaging, and where a formal process exists, use mechanisms (critical-vendor treatment, assurance of continuity) that legitimately keep the ecosystem intact. The goal is to stop a confidence spiral that converts a fixable situation into a fire-sale.