Developing Relationships with Suppliers
It is important to me that I have strong relationships with my suppliers especially our drop ship suppliers. I feel it is important to know the people and the company that is representing my company to my customers.
A few weeks ago one of my suppliers started having trouble with follow through. Many orders were not shipping, orders were getting lost or they were shipping the incorrect items. I understand that mistakes happen but when it started happening daily I knew I needed to take action.
This is when a strong relationship pays off. I knew who to call and talk to in order to get this straightened out. I am one of those people that is usually nice to everyone. Not that day. (Let’s just say you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!) I kept my cool, to a certain point but I was able to get the situation resolved and I guarantee this won’t happen again. I kept my relationship with them strong but I also showed them that my company will not put up with a supplier that is going to make these mistakes. If I did not know who to call it could have taken a lot longer to get this fixed.
My other suppliers are fantastic and it is great to know the employees and owners on a personal level. It truly makes my job a little easier.
If you don’t know your suppliers, I would recommend you try. You never know when you might need their help, or a special favor. .
This post is filed under By Merchants, For Merchants and has the following keyword tags: ecommerce, drop ship, suppliers, wholesale, business.
1 Comment
Dennis says:
This is a very important part of the business world, treating people on a equal footing and building relationshilps with those you do business with makes everything go a lot smoother.
