Screen Suppliers Like Operators

Outcome: Qualify suppliers on capability, communication, certifications, sample quality, terms, packaging, and responsiveness.

What to do in this lesson

Watch: start with the lesson video.
Learn: use the summary and key points to capture the operating principle.
Do: complete the action steps against one real product, SKU, campaign, supplier, or workflow.
Submit: write one action card with owner, evidence, next step, risk, status, and review date.

Watch

Hosted on Google Drive.

Lesson summary

This lesson teaches the importance of developing strong relationships with suppliers and provides strategies for doing so. Key topics include sharing information about your business success, being clear about product requirements, using visuals, and communicating effectively through channels like WhatsApp and email. The lesson also emphasizes the value of in-person visits, positive feedback, and honesty in building successful supplier relationships.

Key points

Develop relationships with suppliers to gain better pricing, payment terms, access to new products, and higher product quality
Share information about your business success, including revenue growth, potential for expansion, and detailed product requirements
Use visuals like graphs, figures, and product listing to communicate effectively and overcome language barriers
Utilize instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat for quick feedback, while also confirming details via email
Attend trade shows to connect with high-quality suppliers and build relationships
Get to know your sample master, the engineer responsible for your product, to understand their capabilities
Be positive, complimentary, and honest in your interactions with suppliers

Action checklist

Share details about your business success and growth plans with suppliers
Provide clear, upfront information about your product requirements and testing standards
Use visuals like graphs and product listings to communicate your needs and successes
Utilize instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat to maintain frequent communication with suppliers
Attend trade shows to connect with and evaluate potential new suppliers

Full transcript

Open transcript

Hello Titans and welcome to this next session which is developing relationships with suppliers. So these are little tips and tricks as well as your session about negotiation of how to better your relationships with your suppliers. So reasons why it’s so critical for your business. Creating a relationship with the supplier allows you to gain following one better pricing, two better payment terms, three, the willingness to work with you on innovative products and even split more cost for you, four, first instruction to new products, five exclusivity on those products, six better quality products and willingness to re-work product to a higher standard if need be. This is with the sample and also with second orders, third orders, etc. Overall better communication and willingness to help each other if unforeseen circumstances do happen. Now, what is best to share to get results? One, the success of the business. So A, what is your business and brand? So really kind of sell it to them, really kind of make them involved and invested and excited about your brand. B, what has been successful so far within your business? Now this can be product wise, this can be revenue wise, this could be everything. So showing the previous success of your business can kind of help them see the future successes and what they can do for you to make things better. And also see what can we look into developing? So this kind of similar to what we were saying in B, product wise, what’s been successful so far can really help them look into what they can develop for you in the future and how they can build that business with you. For example, this is something you can say to them is our revenue year on year has increased by 30% and it’s projected that we would see more of this over the next coming year. Now another thing you need to kind of think the potential of expansion. Now this is the potential of expansion through products, through increase in orders, all of those kind of things you need to think about. So A, product ranges, what can we expand on that? B, are you going to go into different markets like Europe, Canada or new platforms such as Walmart, et cetera, that can potentially increase the overall orders? And C, it’s really good to show them your two year growth plan. So if you do a 12 month to 24 month forecast or more, you’re kind of seeing, then suppliers will kind of buy into that a lot more because numbers talk more than once. To be clear about each product and what you want up front. So when you’re clear and you’re focused about this, they’ll be able to help you in the future. And also make sure this is up front before orders because this will really, really help you in the long run. So when I say best upfront information to give suppliers, this is with your purchase review. It’s a huge, huge thing here. So we need to make sure that your purchase review is really detailed. So the supplier will know that. So that is with packaging testing requirements, outcome of failed inspections and quality standards. So with this, this is actually creating a better relationship with your suppliers. And also will give you a trust for future orders and also expectations. So additional information that you can share with them, visuals, huge thing, speaks more than words. I think I’ve said that a couple of times. So definitely use that. So what kind of visuals can we use? We can use the success through graphs, figures, and stories of product launches. So this is kind of seeing the growth of your product so far, the growth that you expect to see, and all of those different kind of things. Also success stories. So did you get to 10k in one month or stuff like that, they’re kind of big things like that. Also visuals do decrease the language barrier that you may have. So you can kind of tell them that we’re being successful, we’re looking to grow and increase by 20%. You put that in a graph, they’ll instantly be able to see what you’re talking about and instantly be excited about it. Show them your listing. So that’s a really good thing is to show them your listing. And if there are any negative reviews or anything like that, they can kind of see that and they can kind of help you eradicate those negative reviews and work with you. Also it does show you that you are on a professional platform and you are doing really, really well. So that will kind of engage them a lot more. As I was saying with the reviews, showing them on your listing will help them understand any improvements required for the next order. It also is a positive way of giving constructive feedback for them without punishing your relationship. So if you say, okay, I have had a few negative reviews, how can we fix this? You show them that review, so you show them that evidence instead of going hard on them and kind of having a go at them and not having a good product. So they’re kind of different things that effective communication. We chat on WhatsApp. It’s a very, very good form of communication. This will give you instant feedback and instant up to date live information. It’s useful to articulate information, confirm in details and keep in constant update and quickly track orders and development. So suppliers are more likely to message you on WhatsApp and we chat and give you a reply within 10 to 15 minutes. Whereas on email, you could probably be waiting for half a day. So it’s a great way to kind of get that instant, instant feedback there. Email, that’s always a good one. I would always ensure when you speak to something on WeChat and WhatsApp to reconfirm the established confirmation through email to solidify your communication. Now, if you are disputing this through Alibaba, the email format is the best way and it’s more favored than WeChat screenshots. So you’re just kind of doing that back up as well. So if you talk tips to find the best way to communicate, now I would hugely suggest going to trade share visits. When you go to a trade share here, such as Canton or Ambiente, they have no real suppliers under one roof. So with that, you’ll be able to shift our good quality, good communication and the best suppliers. Also, working with your own suppliers, you’ll be able to communicate a lot more efficiently. Actually, visits, that’s a huge one for me and has been throughout my whole career. It’s the one way that you can actually gain and solidify those good relationships and the capabilities. I would suggest to get to know your sample master in every factory because they are the ones that are engineering your product and it will be really, really helpful to one game in that knowledge and understand what they can do for you and what their strengths are. So just to let you know what a sample master is, it’s, as I was saying, it’s an engineer for all products. They will look at your drawing, see if it’s feasible and also make suggestions. They will work with you on each process so you can work efficiently along the production line. So there’s more tips and tricks for a better relationship. Always be positive, that’s a really good trade because the more positive you are, the more they’ll be willing to help you. Complement them on their product and attitude for working. So if they have done something really well, it goes really, really far and it’s not that much effort to say how much you appreciate what they’re doing and the product that they are creating. Check in on any important holiday dates and wish them a lovely holiday. So this could be your Chinese New Year or it can be another kind of Dragonbait Festival or something like that. They will return the favour as well and wish you well for your Christmas and all of the kind of Easter holidays, etc. If you do visit their factory, bring one of your favourite treats from home. So I’m British, bringing tea or biscuits or something like that. That’s very British, something from maybe Fort Numer Mason’s. They would really, really appreciate it and would be getting very excited. In return, you’ll probably get some nice Chinese tea or something that’s Chinese related. This is a bit similar to second one, but always let them know when you’re happy with their service. It could be a certain aspect of their service, it could be all of the service, but just kind of let them know that you are happy. This will go very, very fun. And be honest, that’s a big treat as well. Just be honest with them. You don’t have to tell them everything, but just make sure that you are as honest as you can be. And that is a few tips and tricks on a better relationship. Thank you very much.

Resources

Source lesson: Sourcing: Developing Relationships with Suppliers
Resources: none attached yet.

Track: 02 — Product Opportunity & Sourcing Engine
Module: Supplier & Landed Cost Validation