Other - Business & Finance. How Important Is It For A Company To Have Only One Supplier (as A Sole Supplier)arent There Any Risk?

Other Business Finance : How Important Is It For A Company To Have Only One Supplier As A Sole Supplierarent There Any Risk

I have sent out a catalogue to a technical director who acknowledged having received it and is confirmed that our my range of products is very good unfortunately they have a sole distributor. I understood that he doesnt make this decision but how about the decision and how important is it for this company not to taste other suppliers. ~~~ Invasion ~~~

Best Answer To Other Business Finance Question

From personal experience I prefer using a sole supplier. Basically it boiled down to the fact that I was able to negotiate lower prices and work on deep discounts for certain items if I were to do an advertising campaign. There is no risk if the supplier is reliable in providing product and keeping their stock replenished. I liked the fact that the supplier was "working" for me. They are aware of my loyalty and therefore go above and beyond for me. There is no point to bring in any other suppliers if things are running smoothly and youre making profit. When I did use more than 1 supplier, more than half the time there were delays, miscommunications or the supplier treated me as just another one of their customers. There were occassions when I wanted to sell "specialty" items that my supplier did not offer, so I would make arrangements to aquire that product from another supplier often letting the supplier know right up front, I was only interested in a certain item. Some would accept and others wont. And last but not least... I would receive at least 10 calls a week from all sorts of suppliers, distributors and manufacturers trying to offer me their products. You can only take so many of these calls before you get annoyed. I personally prefered to receive a nice package in the mail and if it was something that caught my interest, Id inquire. Something you may want to do is, send a package with a return receipt so you know they got it. Wait 3-4 days and then call them asking them if they had a moment to look over your catalog. This method worked a lot better than the cold calls. Hope that helps.

All Answer To Other Business Finance Questions

Answer 1

if they have only one supplier inquire about being a secondary supplier or back up supplier

Answer 2

From personal experience I prefer using a sole supplier. Basically it boiled down to the fact that I was able to negotiate lower prices and work on deep discounts for certain items if I were to do an advertising campaign. There is no risk if the supplier is reliable in providing product and keeping their stock replenished. I liked the fact that the supplier was "working" for me. They are aware of my loyalty and therefore go above and beyond for me. There is no point to bring in any other suppliers if things are running smoothly and youre making profit. When I did use more than 1 supplier, more than half the time there were delays, miscommunications or the supplier treated me as just another one of their customers. There were occassions when I wanted to sell "specialty" items that my supplier did not offer, so I would make arrangements to aquire that product from another supplier often letting the supplier know right up front, I was only interested in a certain item. Some would accept and others wont. And last but not least... I would receive at least 10 calls a week from all sorts of suppliers, distributors and manufacturers trying to offer me their products. You can only take so many of these calls before you get annoyed. I personally prefered to receive a nice package in the mail and if it was something that caught my interest, Id inquire. Something you may want to do is, send a package with a return receipt so you know they got it. Wait 3-4 days and then call them asking them if they had a moment to look over your catalog. This method worked a lot better than the cold calls. Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Hi, It makes sense for a company to have more than one supplier of necessary items for either manufacturer or as a wholesaler. Various advantages gt; you can play the price game, (A has offered the same thing in the same quantity for £X less than B, and you, as C are well over) Delivery gt; "I can get one tomorrow from A, wheras you qoute 2 weeks delivery" Terms gt; if A does a quote for COD, and B offers a 30/60 day payment leeway It is OK to settle on a supplier that consistently offers a good deal on all three counts, but always wise to keep options open with others. Such is the way of Bizz ! Bob

Answer 4

"If a machine is running well,dont change anything"--this is the thinking and there is much to be said for this. I suggest that he will not change unless things go wrong so stay in touch and keep them updated.

Answer 5

i would base my decision not just on the range and quality of the the products but also the ability of them to deliver on time and the kind of support they can offer as a supplier if all of those were to in place i would consider changing supplier rather than having two .