No matter what industry your business is part of, you know how important it is to have reliable suppliers or high-quality goods. If your business involves retail, your sales to your customers depend on having a consistent inventory of quality products. Maybe you create, build, or improve something as part of your business, such as art, candles, or clothing. You need to be sure you’ll get all your supplies on time, so you can get your work done in time to meet deadlines and satisfy your customers.
When you are considering how to create your company’s supply chain, you may be wondering if you should go straight to the manufacturer, or if you should work with a wholesaler. While the answer will depend on the unique specifics of every business, many business owners find that working with a wholesaler offers more benefits than contracting directly with the manufacturer.
Finding Wholesalers:
When you are looking for a wholesaler (or several) to supply your retail business with the products you need, it’s vital to work with reliable vendors. You need to find a wholesaler that carries the goods and products you need for your business. It’s also important to choose wholesalers that are reliable and trustworthy, and that have a reliable supply chain themselves. You can find a list of wholesalers here and know that the names on the list are trustworthy and dedicated to providing quality products.
Advantages and Benefits of Wholesalers:
A wholesaler essentially functions as a middleman to negotiate and facilitate the interactions between the manufacturer and your retail business. Because of this definition of wholesaler, some business owners wonder why they shouldn’t just go directly to the manufacturer instead and cut out the middle man. This is a good question and one that deserves consideration. For starters, you may not be able to work directly with a manufacturer. Some manufacturers set up their company model so they sell directly to wholesalers and not to retailers. If this is the case, you’ll be required to work with a wholesaler.
There are many benefits to working with a wholesaler. While manufacturers are generally located in industrial areas, and sometimes outside the area where you live and work, wholesalers generally have several locations so it’s easy to find one in your area. In some cases, you can even buy from your wholesaler daily or weekly, so you aren’t required to stock a large amount of inventory.
Another advantage of a wholesaler is that they usually stock numerous products from various manufacturers. So you can get everything you need simply by working with a single wholesaler. This can dramatically increase the efficiency of your supply line and work processes. You may also be able to get small quantities of a product from a wholesaler, whereas this is not usually possible when you work directly with a manufacturer. In certain circumstances, you might get a discounted price from your wholesaler, as some manufacturers offer reduced prices to wholesalers and those can be passed along to you.
