Unless you make your own stuff from scratch to the production line, then you will need a solid business supplier. They come in a handful of major categories, ranging from distributors or wholesalers, to manufacturers, import sources, and independent craft-persons. With the plenitude of different options, the field is very competitive and the business supplier with whom you end up is often chosen primarily due to price.

Attributes of a Good Business Supplier

Although the price of supplies is a solid sticking point, reliability is nearly s important. Delays are costly to you and the consumer, so it’s often better to have a reliable working relationship than to pay less for the materials you need from the supplier. Although you’ll fare better by being consistent with orders from a single provider (generally, since you can then get wholesale prices), you may also consider diversifying your orders among several suppliers – this functions as a back-up plan in seasons of high customer traffic.

Another important attribute of a good business supplier is reliability. If you go the service diversification route, you can better gauge the one with whom you wish to work if they prove themselves more reliable. From there, gauge the stability of the supply business; this emanates from management. If the supplier has a high turnover rate of business executives, then they may not be a very stable company. Long-tenured executives are always almost a good sign of stability.

Relationship Value

If you place consistent, large-volume orders, then there’s little reason you shouldn’t eventually start receiving discounts (assuming these aren’t already in place). This shows that your business supplier values your relationship and is willing to compete for your business. This is fairly standard in the B2B world, since your patronage far outweighs that of any single consumer. Don’t be reserved about asking about any available discounts based on the size of the order.

For more tips and strategies for finding the right business supplier, contact us at Capital Finance Partners.