If yours is a business that relies heavily on suppliers, take a moment to think what a ‘nasty surprise’ might look like…
- A vital delivery that inexplicably doesn’t materialise?
- A damaging breakdown in the supply chain?
- A complete silence when you need quick answers?
Yes, there will always be hiccups. Bumps in the road. ‘The best-laid plans’ and all that. But there are some bumps you can definitely do without.
So, if suppliers are a pivotal aspect of your business, what DO you do when they let you down badly? And how can you choose your next supplier with confidence? (So you don’t suffer the same experience.)
At Spanjer, we formulate and manufacture ‘white label’ cleaning chemicals for a particularly wide range of clients – many of them respected household names, in the automotive industry and elsewhere.
(Think of us as ‘the name you don’t know behind the names you do’.)
The way we see it, our clients’ credibility is literally in our hands.
The quality of their service depends directly on the quality of ours. That’s why – especially given the standing of so many of our clients – we have to do everything that we can to get certain things right. And to respond swiftly whenever there’s an issue.
For one prospective client, who’d never used us before, we formulated, tested and ‘made ready’ a handful of their core cleaning products. It was a way to demonstrate exactly what we could do for them.
As it turned out, it also meant we were ‘in there wings’ for them, when their own supplier failed them. Here’s how they described the situation to a third party:
“When the day came that we’d been let down by someone else, they were able to step right in. We had that substitute range sat there ready to go… it just slid right into place which was a big, big help at the time… that would have been a really sticky situation for us.”
These words come from a recent set of client-facing interviews we conducted – to understand more deeply what our clients value most about our service, and also how we can improve things.
To come back to our own earlier question…
How can you choose your next supplier with confidence? And with your eyes wide open?
One way is to do your homework. To visit their premises. To speak to their past customers. To quiz them on their credentials. And perhaps even give them a trial run.
If cleaning chemicals are a piece of your business, and you’re interested to explore a new supplier relationship – perhaps before you absolutely have to! – then do get in touch.
We’d be happy to give you an outline of how we can support your business success, and be a trusted partner, rather than ‘just’ a supplier.
And…
We’ll also do our best to make sure that your next surprises in business are pleasant ones.
