As a distributor, your reputation is deeply tied to your performance at every interaction with your customer. Every order can potentially redefine your value and effectiveness with your contractor or end user.
Being a distributor, you are often managing six to ten or more product lines, juggling ten to thirty projects at various stages of completion at any given time. It is easily possible for you to be responsible for managing 300 orders with various manufacturers on any given day. Even in a perfect world, the job of the door and hardware distributor is extremely demanding.
So what steps can you take to ensure that your vendor partners will help protect and enhance your business reputation?
Philosophical Alignment
Your vendor’s operating practices and values need to match your own. Consider alignment in these areas:
- Importance of keeping commitments
- Method of handling questions and issues
- Ability to “make things happen” when needed
- Speed of response on quotes, orders, and returned phone calls
- Process of order fulfillment — partnership approach or simply ship what is ordered
- Communication throughout the ordering and project process
- Availability and quality of technical support
Ease of Doing Business
Does dealing with this vendor cost you more time or save you time? Critical things to consider:
- Will they accept an order in your standard format?
- Can you quickly speak with a knowledgeable person when needed?
- Do they acknowledge receipt of your order quickly, or ask clarifying questions?
- Do you quickly receive a confirmed price and ship date?
- Will you have to follow up to ensure material ships on time?
- Are you required to review and take responsibility for order acknowledgements?
- Do they send shipping notifications with carrier and tracking information?
Price vs. Value
Does your final price equal the value perceived? As a good distributor, you must always balance the cost of delivering the current project on budget while doing what is required to bring the project in on time.
A good vendor will review your orders to make sure you get what you really need, combine orders to save freight costs, and offer a wide array of products from a single source to reduce your shipping costs and administrative overhead.
As Warren Buffett puts it: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Apply that lens to every vendor relationship you manage.
About the Author
Steve Adams is Vice President of Sales at HMF Express and a 30-year industry professional.