It doesn’t matter what type of company you have, you always deserve the best possible service from your suppliers. Whatever they are supplying your business, the relationship has to be a good one. It’s a mutual one; you treat them well, you pay your bills on time and you make a point of keeping the relationship a smooth one. In return, your suppliers aren’t late, they deliver and they offer you the best discounts when they can.
Finding the right supplier? That’s not always easy, and finding a supplier that impacts your business in a positive way isn’t easy, either. However, you have to assess whether your current supplier is offering you what you need, and whether you are getting world food wholesale from Wanis or you’re buying packaging from a large supplier wholesale, you need to know what the signs are to make a switch. It’s necessary for you to be aware of when the time is right to make that swap – and here are the signs to look for.
- Is the delivery reliable? If your supplier is ad hoc with their deliveries to you, the best thing that you can do is ensure that you swap to a more reliable option. There may have been a time you could set the clock against the delivery from your supplier, but if they are consistently inconsistent, then the time has come for change.
- They don’t communicate. If your suppliers aren’t communicating with you and discussing when items aren’t in stock, then the best thing that you can do is to communicate with them instead. Strong communication is the central point of any good partnership, and you’ll be a well oiled machine when you work together properly.
- The costs are going up. And up. If your costs for supplies are going up without an obvious explanation or reason, then there should be a conversation here. Every single vendor raises their rates over time but there should be notification from your supplier that this is going to happen. It shouldn’t just shoot up and you have to manage; that’s not how a business works.
- You’re getting poor service. Service is important when you are dealing with suppliers. You need to know that you are getting the highest possible service from your suppliers. High quality services are critical to a business relationship and you need to deal with repeated errors by going elsewhere to get the help.
- You can see signs of trouble. Your business is going to thrive if you have the right account managers and if you are seeing signs of inconsistency with your current one, the best thing that you can do is move on. You need one account manager, not a rotating list, and you need to know your supplier has not been acquired by a bigger company, either.
- They’re working with you to meet your goals. Evaluate the vendors that you have already and your relationships with each of them. Then ask yourself whether it’s clear that your vendors are working with you on your goals.
