Whether you’re a small business or an international brand, getting to know your suppliers comes with some advantages that you simply shouldn’t pass up. It doesn’t matter what kind of industry you’re in, how many employees you have or even if you’re a remote business with no office. You’ve likely got a supplier delivering physical or even digital assets to your business. It could be offering you server space, an internet connection, shipping boxes or even the product you’re selling. Whatever it is, it’s worth getting to know your supplier–and here’s why.
Minimizing the risks of price volatility
Stock pricing can occasionally be volatile because of unpredictable market conditions. A product that you purchase for a low price can often increase in price based on the raw material price. This usually isn’t a problem for digital assets such as server space and bandwidth, but it can still cause an issue when the prices change drastically and suddenly.
By getting to know your suppliers, you can often get wind of these changes before they have a chance to take place. In some cases, you might even be protected from volatile pricing. This is a fantastic way to help you stabilize your business and ensure that your financial situation remains predictable and stable.
Immediate delivery and additional services
Many suppliers are more willing to offer additional services, such as immediate deliveries or even weekend services, for companies that they’ve worked with for a long time. For instance, if you need gas oil to power your machines or vehicles and it’s an emergency, then it’s worth building a good relationship with your suppliers so that they can provide you with unique services that most other companies don’t offer.
By building up a good relationship with your suppliers, you tend to unlock more opportunities for specially-tailored services. You can also make more detailed requests since the supplier is more accustomed to the way you do business and is more likely to accept your custom orders and needs.
Improved efficiency of your business
Once you’ve defined a solid relationship with your supplier, it opens up the possibility of improving your overall workflow and efficiency. Suppliers can gain a better understanding of how you do business and tweak their services to fit your needs. However, this isn’t possible unless you build a good relationship with the company that supplies you with your essentials.
A good example is in communication. If you have a dedicated member of staff assigned to your business, you have a direct line of communication that avoids any queues in their support. You’ll also find it a lot easier to speak to the same person instead of a different employee each time. This will help you speed up the service you get from the supplier, resulting in a more productive workflow.
Reliability is a factor that is highly valued in the world of business since it offers consistency and predictability. That’s why it’s a good idea to get to know your suppliers regardless of what they offer you.
This is a contributed post
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