Top 3 Tools for Supplier Discovery: Out with the Old, In with the New
Maintaining a long-term relationship with your suppliers can yield enormous benefits, especially if you’d think about eliminating the costs associated with sourcing potential suppliers on an annual basis. However, it is not without a disadvantage.
Maybe your suppliers were at the top of their game the time you hired them, but are they still providing you superior quality goods now? Are they using innovative tools to keep up with the competition or have they become too complacent over the years?
Ugly truth be told, when it comes to partnering with other companies, loyalty can sometimes be overrated. Although it might seem logical to stick to the same old supplier you’ve had 10 years ago, you can actually be halting the growth of your company.
If you’re not really sure if you are getting the best out of your supplier’s services, it is time that you re-evaluate your standards and explore other options by using sourcing tools that can help you discover potential suppliers.
Supplier Discovery
Supplier discovery is integral in finding top-class suppliers while cutting production costs. During the sourcing process, sourcing teams create a list of qualified suppliers that can offer you high-grade services and goods.
At first glance, putting up a team to find new suppliers may seem like a waste of time and resources, but it can actually offer you long-term benefits. As qualified suppliers bid to get your contract, you can improve operational results while paying the lowest possible price. This, in turn, can help you increase investment returns.
Sounds like a great idea? Below are some of the sourcing tools that can help you find qualified suppliers:
eSourcing
When initializing a sourcing event, sourcing teams can find qualified suppliers and issue RFQs, RFPs and RFIs with the help of eSourcing tools. The suppliers on the list can then provide a response by placing a bid or an offering. After gathering all the responses from the suppliers, the sourcing team compares and contrasts bids for the following criteria: best terms, best value and best price. The supplier with the best offering is most likely to secure the contract.
Spend Analysis
Are you making the most out of the deals that your past and current suppliers have laid down on your table? Perhaps you can further cut down production costs by ordering in bulk? Or maybe there’s a missing piece in your equation?
Spend analysis, as the name implies, is a set of tools that can help you understand your spending trends. By using these tools, you can explore other aspects that can help you save up during production.
Supplier Network
Supplier network is an online platform that bridges the gap between buyers and suppliers. By the use of a supplier network, sourcing teams can tap a new market by looking for suppliers based on cost, category, timeframe or location. Once your sourcing team finds a supplier that meets all your standards, you can directly negotiate online. This way, you can save time, money and energy.
In today’s world, “okay” is never enough to get you on top. Instead of sticking to traditional company practices, always be open to changes that can help you gain business leverage. Who knows? You might find an innovative supplier that can offer you top-grade services and goods at a much lower price.
If you are on the lookout for a new supplier, TradeVale is here to cover all your meticulous needs. Aside from producing top-of-the-line goods, we also offer inspection services for quality assurance. So whether you are at the beginning or the end phase of production, you can always depend on us to render you unparalleled services.
