Different Ways to Find Suppliers for Your Business
- The first step would be to use search engines like Google. By carefully selecting your keywords, you can identify a fairly comprehensive list of suppliers to explore.
- Professional social networks are also highly relevant for finding suppliers for your business. Use filters for targeted searches and take the time to explore detailed profiles of companies, their leaders, and employees. In this context, a LinkedIn Premium account can be useful to remove messaging limitations and make your queries more visible.
- Trade shows are another great sourcing opportunity. They allow you to establish direct contact with well-established companies and provide valuable information through exchanges and expert-led conferences.
Another alternative, especially if you’re already busy with your business or opening a new market, is to hire a sourcing agent or company (internal or external) that will handle supplier management for each of your products, such as MWT Sourcing: a trusted provider for industrial equipment and consumer goods.
What Criteria Should You Use to Select a Supplier for Your Business?
Before anything else, it’s crucial to verify certain details about the suppliers you’ve identified:
- Ensure the company is properly registered by searching sites like societe.com for France or northdata.fr for broader coverage. You’ll also have access to the company’s history, its financial health, and its creditworthiness score. Don’t hesitate to investigate further if you have doubts.
- Conduct a thorough online search to find any clues about the company’s reputation and customer satisfaction by checking reviews on forums. Look for certified reviews, if available, especially via Trustpilot. Beyond the general rating, delve into the comments to understand the reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction to better address sensitive points with the supplier.
- Production lead times and delivery deadlines are critical factors depending on your business model.
- Can your supplier meet your required quantities? Do they have a minimum order quantity, or are they capable of producing and delivering small quantities? Can they produce single units on demand?
- Ensure your supplier meets the quality standards required by European and French regulations.
Payment terms are also an important factor. Long-term relationships can improve your cash flow through more favorable terms. Additionally, if your supplier is reliable and reputable, it may be appropriate to pay a deposit before starting production.
Tips for Managing Your Supplier Relationships
It is essential to diversify your suppliers and their origins. While you may find the perfect supplier in every respect and be tempted to establish an exclusive relationship for all your products and services, remember that this collaboration could end temporarily or permanently at any time, regardless of both parties’ intentions. For instance, a government-imposed import ban, new regulations requiring adaptation, political instability, or the supplier’s bankruptcy could disrupt production or sourcing.
While it’s comfortable to work with long-term partners due to advantages like consolidated orders, historical data, and mutual trust, diversification remains crucial to avoid disruptions.
Consider the market dynamics of your product/service distribution areas. This should be part of your strategy since each region has its specificities. For instance, in Europe, environmental concerns must be taken into account to protect your brand image. Avoid sourcing from countries or suppliers with questionable reputations, such as those suspected of using child labor. Such practices could eventually backfire and undermine your efforts to grow your business.
Establish a quality control system to ensure your suppliers consistently meet your specifications over time and to prevent customer complaints. A damaged reputation is hard to recover from, as the negative marks will remain visible online. Even after resolving issues, significant investment in communication will be required to rebuild trust and regain your customers’ confidence.
MWT Sourcing can assist you in finding suppliers and developing a long-term strategy for healthy and optimized business growth.
