Owners should concentrate on what suppliers offer to an operation rather than what they cost since suppliers supply the vital products and services needed to operate a firm.
Suppliers provide high-quality materials and facilitate last-minute product acquisition. You must ask them to go above and beyond in order to achieve your objectives. Building a connection with a supplier is similar to expanding your clientele.
It takes both a personal touch and a track record of consistently acting professionally.
Increasing supplier connections makes sense as a win-win situation for all parties. Your company gains from receiving top-notch service from partners that are truly delighted to meet your requirements and are prepared to go above and beyond.
Meanwhile, your suppliers find a straightforward client they can rely on for consistent orders and cordial relations. Expectations are clear and activities are carried out without difficulty in communication.
How can you establish a rapport with suppliers? How can you improve your relationship with your present network such that it resembles the situation above? We have compiled tips on how to build a strong relationship with suppliers.
Discuss any issues and concerns with your suppliers carefully
Azi Azimi, COO at CanXida states: “Working with a reputable, long-standing supplier implies that things should usually run without a hitch. Nevertheless, problems may sometimes arise, and the supplier relationship may end badly.
Instead of talking through email, pick up the phone and speak with your provider if you have any problems. Reread the contract to make sure you are aware of any obligations that may not be being met by the parties.
After that, you can use this as a starting point for open and sincere talks about how to improve your supplier relationship moving ahead.”
Consistently and clearly communicating
Like in any company partnership, transparency and maintaining open lines of communication with your suppliers should be top priorities. By doing so, you may ideally avoid communication failures in your supplier relationship.
Regular contact will also aid in your comprehension of your supplier’s internal language and corporate culture.
Even while it’s customary to do the majority of your business remotely—especially with remote working becoming the standard—making an effort to sometimes meet with suppliers might help you build deeper relationships with them.
If it can’t be done, think about using video conferencing or setting up online lunch meetings.
The correct collaboration platform must be in place when handling rebates so that internal and external teams can easily communicate and exchange agreements, including any supplemental information.
This will support a more open, balanced discussion about your arrangements and improve your connection with your suppliers.
Make an effort to provide and accept candid comments
UK-based Chorlton Fireworks owner Saj Munir shares: “There is always potential for improvement and performance can never be at its peak all the time.
Trust develops in your supplier relationship when you can jointly tackle these issues and openly discuss where and how to improve.
Make your suppliers feel like they are a member of your company rather than simply a source of products or services to foster that trust and loyalty.”
Make their job simpler
Tommy Mello, owner of A1garage believes in helping your suppliers help you. He shares: “Give your vendors enough advance time and keep them informed of your demands.
Even if emergencies can’t always be avoided, suppliers won’t like you if you keep calling them with last-minute orders. Don’t count on your suppliers to always be able to predict your demands.
Your request can be specific enough to take extra time, or it might not even be obvious what you want. If suppliers require help figuring out what you need, work with them and make their lives easier.”
Determine and Keep an Eye on Internal Risks
Looking inside is the first step in developing the greatest vendor connections. Take into account the procedures and tools you now use to support your whole supplier ecosystem.
Technology, people, and procedures are the three main types of fulfilling internal resources.
- Technology: Do you have the tools necessary to nimbly handle supplier conversations and records from beginning to end? Invoices and account statements are only a few of the documents that may be sent, received, uploaded, organized, and accessed in this manner. One of the most crucial aspects of a successful supplier relationship is on-time payments, which will be made easier by a vendor-ready technical package.
- Personnel – Can you hire a dedicated supplier relationship manager or thoughtfully integrate that duty into the duties of an existing employee? To provide end-to-end visibility and reduce silos, it may be more appropriate for bigger businesses to commit an entire team or micro-department to manage vendor, supplier, and distributor activities.
- Processes: Have you drafted and distributed a detailed vendor management procedure to the appropriate staff members? Organizations may do this through a variety of strategies. You may create a flowchart showing each stage in the normal administration of supplier processes as an example of a standard operating procedure (SOP).
Be aware of cultural variations
Working with international suppliers makes sense in a world that is becoming more and more globalized. Make sure you study and learn everything you need to know if your provider is from a foreign culture.
It is common practice in business to work with foreign suppliers. Do your research to help establish a strong connection and strengthen your relationship.
For instance, Chinese culture places a strong focus on developing personal connections (“guanxi”) as a basis for economic interactions.
Meet your suppliers face to face
Marie Littlewood, director at NSI states: “With 1.47 billion active users on Facebook, the world is becoming more and more digital. Emailing, texting, and phone calls take up more of our time than always. If you can make the time to see your provider in person, it will be much more memorable.
It’s not necessary to go on a weeklong getaway. However, having lunch together will help the connection grow.
Try to establish a connection with them that goes beyond a ‘work-only’ arrangement and meets them in person.
Instead of surprising them with flowers, ask them how their weekend went and maybe send them a Christmas card. Stronger professional ties will follow from stronger personal ones.”
