How do I go about finding a reliable supplier?
Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.
When procuring something that your business needs, it’s not a good idea to just look for lowest price. Sometimes price alone is not enough. You want to make sure that you are receiving a quality product from a supplier that can meet all of your needs. One way to ensure this is to thoroughly vet your suppliers before the RFQ process begins. One way to do this is to create a survey of detailed questions for each supplier to answer. This can be done using a tool such as SafeSurvey™. SafeSurvey™ allows you to create sections of questions that you would like clarification on before the RFQ process begins. After the supplier research has been completed, questions are then complied and put together within the SafeSurvey™ tool. An email is sent out to all potential suppliers with a link to the survey. After the surveys have been completed, the data can be exported for further analysis. Below are some questions that may be contained within the survey.
- Business Name
- Company Description
- Date Established
- Annual Revenues
- Headquarter Location
- Years in Business
- References
- Competitors
- Delivery Methods
- Volume Rebates
- Standard Roll Out Program for New Customers
- How are Orders Places
- How are Back Orders Handled
If you are interested in seeing how SafeSurvey™ can help you in your vetting, feel free to contact SafeSourcing. We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which suppliers meet your needs. If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.
We look forward to your comments.
