Partner Article

Your final Chopped or Chosen decision!

The Preferred Supplier is a new business support initiative brought to you exclusively on Bdaily by Malcolm Gallagher of BizVision and his expert partners. Over the coming months you’ll gain from a growing collection of incisive articles here on Bdaily and other support activity to help you become and stay The Preferred Supplier.

We’ve arrived at the final four of the criteria for the ideal supplier and time for your final decision on how you stand.

If you have been following me in part 1 with two criteria and then into part 2 with four criteria, you’ll “eagerly” be anticipating the final four of the ten top criteria buyers typically apply when selecting a supplier.

But we are not just about you being an average supplier, we are about you being the preferred supplier. That means you need to be committed to continuous improvement across the whole ten elements. As before score yourself on red, amber or green across the final four upcoming criteria of Quality, Control, Communication and Price.

Quality

Every supplier will claim to provide quality! Therefore the buyer will have doubt and want to “see inside” your company to ensure that you have the right inspection procedures and certainly clear quality instructions embedded throughout your company.

Inspection procedures may be formal inspections by supervisors or benchmark quality control standards. Quality instructions may be operating and maintenance instructions or quality plans. Both of these ensure, and their balance, show you are proactively seeking to provide and measure a high standard of quality.

It is likely that the buyers will also want to ask questions of your other customers to see if you have a strong record of quality.

Control

We all know that things can sometimes get out of control but you should have a strong mechanism of control within your company and be able to evidence it.

You should be in firm “leadership” control of the people and systems that control your resources, inventory, budgets, and processes. The buyer wants to check to see whether or not you have the ability to change any of your systems if necessary. This shows your level of control and adaptability.

Are you constantly measuring your performance against the process and do you have a corrective programme in place to correct any errors or slippages?

Communication

Don’t leave me in the dark says the buyer! If you seriously want to be the preferred supplier you need to have full integrated of information and communication. You must have the ability to immediately receive and respond to any changes that might have to be made to an order, such as a modification or a change in volume.

To-day, fast communication is essential all along the supply chain in order to deliver the promise and exceed expectations.

Price

I left it to the last so as not to hear you groan about how price always comes first! It doesn’t in many cases but it is important. Value is the balance between price and quality.

You should be able to offer a bottom-line price that is reasonable and competitive. What are the other considerations when the buyer is looking at your price?

What are the payment terms? What are the interest costs? Is there a penalty for late payment? Are there hidden extras (it’s called the Iceberg Question – the danger is under the water)?

And think of this -the buyer will always think, is a low price too low? An unusually low price may suggest that you as supplier doesn’t understand what is really needed. A low price may even suggest that you intend to cut corners on quality or safety. Remember it is that vital balance. The price at the bottom line number may not tell the whole story.

And finally

Your 10 criteria have come from my long term activity in supplier development but I have also been inspired by writings of my peers such as Ray Carter of DPSS Consultants, one of the world’s leading advisors on supply chains. Like Ray, I’m committed to my own and my company’s continuous improvement. Are you?

Then please follow us at The Preferred Supplier, come along to one of our events or ask us to come and advise you (with a free first meeting) on how you can ensure you are chosen not chopped!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Preferred Supplier .