A good business needs to work with good partners. If a supplier provides a bad service or product, it can have a negative impact on your own business. In such cases, severing ties can sometimes be necessary. Below are a few sure signs that you need to find new suppliers.
Their product/service is poor quality
This is an obvious sign that you need to look into new suppliers. If your supplier has been delivering faulty products to you or their service hasn’t been achieving your goals, it could be time to look elsewhere. There’s no point in continuing to pay an SEO company that isn’t boosting your rankings or paying an ingredients supplier that keeps sending you damaged or spoiled food.
They never deliver on time
Suppliers need to be able to meet deadlines. If you’re constantly having to wait on suppliers – and having to apologize to customers for the delay – you may want to consider switching to a new supplier. Always check with suppliers before working with them as to how fast they can deliver products or services. Be wary that faster service may often require paying extra – be realistic about what suppliers can achieve.
There are frequent communication problems
You should be able to communicate easily with your suppliers. If you often ring them and can’t get through or email them and get no reply, this is not acceptable behaviour and could be a sign that they are deliberately avoiding you. Even if they’re just being negligent, failure to respond promptly could be a sign that you may not be able to get hold of them in an emergency. Other communication problems to look out for could include frequently getting information wrong such as delivering the wrong product or delivering it on the wrong date (this links back to providing poor quality service/not delivering on time).
They have a bad public reputation
The reputation of a supplier can be important to take into account. If a customer finds out you’re using a supplier with a poor reputation, it may affect your own reputation. Check their online reviews – if they are mostly negative, it could be a sign that they’re not to be trusted. It’s worth always doing a vendor risk assessment before taking on a supplier. This could include researching into various public information about the business so that you know what you’re dealing with. The more research you do, the better. These days, you have platforms like Raiven that let you see loads of suppliers in one place. Aside from making ordering and procurement easier, this is also a good way to tell if a supplier has a positive reputation. If it can’t be found on any platforms like this, the chances are nobody’s using them or they’re not reliable.
You can’t afford their service
If a supplier’s rates are very expensive, consider you could be paying less were you to switch to another supplier. By taking the time to shop around, you can compare all of the prices out there. Services and products may need to be customized, so you may have to ask directly for a personalized quote either by completing a form or ringing up. You could find that there are suppliers out there with much cheaper pricing plans.
Please wait...
Add Comment