container office manufacturer | mumbra | The Rayan Engineering
How to manage your suppliers
For container office manufacturer | mumbra Contact The Rayan Engineering
One of the goals of vendor management is to gain the commitment of your vendors to assist and support the operations of your business. On the other hand, the vendor is expecting a certain level of commitment from you. It does not mean that you should blindly accept the prices they provide. Always get competitive bids.
Suppliers are people too. They run businesses every day, just as you do. This means that you can approach them in a personable way. The same way you would like to be handled. Always be polite and courteous.
Ideally, try to make a point of touching base daily or weekly. If you can become a pleasant part of their week, you will remain top of mind and in good standing. This can make all the difference in building a rapport and long-term relationship.
You may love to bargain for everything and anything. You must be enjoying bargaining. But trust not every time bargains work well. Do not try to bargain with your wedding supplier.
A small amount of bargain is still okay, but if you want to break the deal in really some unexpected amount then you will end up getting worse services or losing the right vendor. Be realistic, understand that every service you are paying for costs your vendors.
You need to define your mission and your brand clearly. Your company (which may consist of just you) has a culture, a set of values, and you need to be clear about what those values are. What type of benefits your company will attract or repel your clients, customers, vendors, and suppliers.
A significant risk in not running competitive bids is the complacency factor. Suppliers get comfortable with their client relationships and may be less likely to invest in innovation or to develop new capabilities. Procurement professionals should have the skills, resources and expertise to obtain supplier and industry intelligence.
Communication is the key to any healthy relationship, and it’s a good point to keep this in mind when dealing with suppliers. Communication will create transparency on both sides of the channel and prevent hiccups or missteps, like incorrect inventory count or missing purchase orders.
Having the right tools in place that allow both internal and external teams to quickly communicate and share documents and other information will help facilitate a more transparent, even-sided conversation.
Every business owner wants return business. It’s what makes it all worthwhile. During negotiations with your suppliers, make sure they know your long-term picture and how you intend on coming back to them as preferred suppliers. This kind of gesture can lead to favourable terms and great future relationships.
It can take time and research to find the right suppliers for your business. Having a reliable supplier means you can provide your customers with quality products and services at the right price.
Vendor management prioritizes long-term relationships over short-term gains and marginal cost savings. Constantly changing vendors to save a penny here or there will cost more money in the long run and will impact quality. Other benefits of a long-term relationship include trust, preferential treatment and access to insider or expert knowledge.
Pointing fingers during a dispute is instinctual, but it’s important to distribute blame on all sides. An easy way to ruin a relationship with a supplier is to place all the blame on their processes when things go awry. When communication isn’t clear and dilemmas occur, it’s important to look at the situation from both sides of the transaction critically.
