Sourcing for companies that look for raw materials is more “out there” than it used to be. For sellers like ourselves, we no longer have to knock on every door to see if people will buy our products or services. We no longer have to pitch our ideas and action plan to companies and organizations. Reaching buyers has now been transformed into a more accessible stream. Purchasing direct goods from suppliers allows companies to work more efficiently, as there will be no more middlemen who will have to oversee such transactions. Fewer charges and fees, too, because companies will be working directly with you – their supplier.
Strategically finding companies who are looking for suppliers is created through a chain of retail engagement. When companies are procuring quality goods from suppliers, they work with a supplier with whom they can form a business relationship within a long-term perspective. In this article, you will learn the different benefits of selling raw materials online, and you can better reach your customers through eCommerce.
Table of Contents
What is a Supplier Company?
What is Vendor Sourcing?
What is Procurement?
The Process of Procurement
The Benefits of Procurement on eCommerce
The Bottomline
What is a Supplier Company?
A supplier company is a business that provides another company or organization with goods or services at lower costs per unit. Supplier companies generally offer goods or services at wholesale prices. The role of supplier companies is to provide quality goods or services to organizations or companies in bulk, without depreciation in the goods and services of their offers. Communication and direct engagement are two key characteristics that are needed for supplier and company relations.
Suppliers play an important role in the production of goods or services by companies. The ecosystem of businesses can freely flow because of the presence of suppliers, which is why their part in the business cannot be removed or disregarded. The suppliers’ role is important at every stage of production and procurement. Providing high-quality raw materials for companies helps set the notch in the product life cycle. As markets begin to get crowded, more customers will flock to sourcing products or services from businesses that can offer the best deal.
A supplier company is generally in charge of the manufacturing of a company’s products or services. For example, a company that runs a business printing will have to source ink, cartridges, and paper from their selected suppliers. The role of the supplier here is to provide a swatch of the different colors they offer at the best price in bulk. The supplier will also provide different options for paper; there’s glossy, matte, watermarked, uncoated, silk-coated, recycled, or tyvek – the kind of paper you can never tear with your hands.
Suppliers must be flexible with the demands of their customers but must not go beyond their means. Part of the role that suppliers play is managing their relationship with their clients in a way that never goes overboard. Sometimes customers may demand so much that suppliers can’t catch up. To cite a few responsibilities of suppliers, these include…
- Equal transactions with all of its clients – Suppliers are bound to pick their favorites when it comes to supplying products or services to companies. However, picking favorites is a humongous no in the business world. As a supplier company, you don’t want to receive complaints from your other clients about why you offered more discounts to another company and whatnot. That’s stressful! So, see to it that you make equitable transactions across all of your clients.
- Offer good prices and exclusives – Customers are all about what they can get from you that they can’t get anywhere else. Personalize your offers according to what would fit your client’s business within the means you can provide. If it’s free shipping, then go for it. If it’s a discount for every hundred, then so be it. Just make sure that you observe how the market goes and offer prices that are tailored to the needs of your clients. Meet them halfway if you must; this way, you can also establish a sense of support from clients you know will be loyal to your supplier company.
Learning about how supplier companies work with their clients brings us to a term called “Supplier Relationship Management.” SRM is a process that provides an organizational touch between suppliers and their clients. SRM may involve managing how efficient suppliers maybe with their work to create a common ground between suppliers and their clients. SRM outlines how well suppliers can perform alongside their client companies. SRM is also the process that companies take in choosing which suppliers to go with. This process narrows down the list of different suppliers, making the ones that stand out those whom companies will choose from.
One of the benefits that SRM offers to companies and suppliers alike is that it strikes a balance between providing a certain number of goods with corresponding prices and receiving requirements from companies and generating a carefully designed quotation for their benefit. SRM helps reduce the costs of both client companies and suppliers by managing the relationship between these two parties. SRM contributes to collaboration and innovation among client companies and suppliers as this process seeks to establish a free-flowing communication system.
What is Vendor Sourcing?
To procure goods and services, vendor sourcing must be directed accordingly. Vendor sourcing is a strategic process that is conducted to achieve a chain of acquiring goods at a quality rate and price, reaching the desired margin of the client company and the supplier. To put it simply, vendor sourcing is the selection of suppliers during the procurement process. This can be about sourcing raw materials, goods, or services that a company needs. Vendor sourcing is marked by a list of factors that companies consider. These factors include…
- Price
- Locality
- Size of delivery
- Assurance of delivery
- Quality of service
- Quality of products
Diving into what vendor sourcing is, we would be introduced to its different types. There’s outsourcing, insourcing, near-sourcing, low-cost country sourcing (LCCS), global sourcing, subcontracting, captive service operations, and professional services sourcing. All of these types correspond to what a company requires as they search for its supplier. This process is necessary for consistency in the quality and prices of raw materials that will be acquired from a supplier. Vendor sourcing helps avoid chain issues or communication barriers between suppliers and client companies by laying out a clear foundation of what these companies require from their suppliers.
What is Procurement?
Procurement is the cost of goods, production cost, and each process that is involved in obtaining goods or services for a company from its supplier. Procurement involves keeping a record of all steps that are made in the process of acquiring a particular good or service. Included in the procurement process are sourcing, purchasing, negotiating prices, and delivery. For example, procurement for a restaurant company may look like acquiring raw materials such as flour, egg, milk, and kitchen utensils.
The process of procurement is vital in the development and operations of a business. For a company to produce quality products or services, it must obtain the highest quality raw materials from its suppliers without exhausting its budget. Companies and suppliers must work together to achieve a common ground that benefits both parties. Along with procurement comes its five pillars. The five pillars of procurement are…
- Equity
This pillar of procurement is centered around the value that suppliers must provide quality products or services despite lowering costs. A good’s quality must not depreciate if its price gets reduced. In size, shape, form, or structure, no part of a good must be sacrificed to obtain a lower cost to meet a client’s requirements.
Since businesses also vary in size, some are large-scale while others are micro-scale, like small businesses, each of them will have different price offers. Small business companies may have lower budgets than companies of grand sizes. Accommodation of businesses is one of the highly valued responsibilities of suppliers in the process of procurement. Despite all the differences in business sizes, supplier companies must still entertain businesses that require small amounts of goods or services.
- Accountability
Accountability begets accountability. As a supplier, your role is to provide assurance to your client companies that you are accountable for the goods and processes that are involved in your agreement. If a company works together with your supplier company for the procurement of goods, then you must ensure that you will provide your partner company with the documentation and quality of service that they expect.
On another note, you must also require to receive the same accountability and transparency from your client company partners. Part of the responsibilities that you need from your client companies is obtaining the information that you need for their orders. Things like the exact number of orders, the exact number of available shipment dates, the contact person, and the like. Don’t miss out on these, as all of this information is necessary for the establishment of your business partnership with your client companies.
- Fair Dealing
When working with your client companies, see that you shape your quotation or offers in a way that you don’t ask for too much or too less. Providing a fair deal in your business negotiations is also a contributory factor on how well and how long your relationship will be with your client company partner. If your price is too high, your client will stray to a different supplier. And if your prices are too low, you might be taken advantage of and fall short. So, price your offers accordingly.
- Value for Money
Evaluate how much you can offer based on the cost per unit of your goods. If you can meet your client at a price that they offer, then give it a go; however, if you feel as though you can’t reach the offer of your client, then you can change the role of the game by offering a different price range. You may also act smartly by including cost-effective freebies that will not harm your transaction. This way, when the client company meets your price, you can make them feel better by providing freebies.
- Open Communication
Communicate regularly with your client companies. If something seems unclear to you, communicate with your clients. Don’t waste another second trying to figure out a puzzle you can’t solve. Perhaps the missing piece is just in the hands of your client. In the procurement process, mistakes can be made too easily. This is why you must communicate directly with your clients to avoid misunderstandings and confusion.
The Process of Procurement
Every company requires a different set of steps that are required for its procurement process. Some companies have a more tedious process, while others have an easier process that has a lesser number of steps and requirements. To be able to create a smooth-sailing process for procurement, you must follow through with these general steps.
- Know which goods or services are needed by your company client.
Identify the requirements your client company needs. Have them identify how many they need, when they need them and which price range you can agree on. This first step has a lot to do with consulting your client about the specifications they are looking for. For example, if you are a supplier of cheese and you have a client who owns a bakery looking for cheese, you must identify the specifics. What type of cheese are they looking for? Is it blue cheese, feta, brie, parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, or a different type of cheese? You must also consider how much cheese they require. Do they want a kilogram of gouda every month, or do they need a combination of gouda, feta, and brie every two months? Know the details!
- Generate your purchase request.
When you have finally gathered all the information you need from your client, you can now generate your purchase request. Generating a purchase request will notify your logistics of the goods you need to supply to your client company. Quantity of goods and specifications are the details that are most important in this step. You don’t want to miss out on the details you received from your client company.
- Provide your selection.
Now it gets tricky. Once you have received your selected goods from your logistics, you now have to cross-check the goods that will be dispatched to your client company. As you cross-check the goods that will be shipped out, make sure that it is of the best quality. You don’t want any negative remarks said about your supplier company. As you proceed with the process, indicate all of the goods and their corresponding prices on the sales invoice that you will be providing your client.
- Dispatch and monitor.
Dispatch and monitoring will require you to monitor an end-to-end field where you can track where your client’s order is and when it will be received. Some supplier companies use in-house delivery, while others use third-party courier companies as their partner in providing shipping services. While both of these options are doable, you must still remember to track your goods and take into account the detail of each delivery. You don’t want to be missing out on goods that you know you have sent out.
- Record
Keep your receipts and have them filed under a folder that you can access easily. It can be cloud storage or a physical folder in your office cabinet, which you can turn to. Receipts are important. Along with your receipts are also the tracking numbers you must note, as these are important information you must also relay to your client companies.
The Benefits of Procurement on eCommerce
As a supplier, you need to be the first person who knows the benefits of eCommerce procurement. Knowing the benefits that procurement offers to companies through eCommerce will help you reach your business goals and work more efficiently with your clients. If you don’t know what good you’re contributing to your clients, then what are you working for?
- Transparent transactions
Since a lot of transactions are made electronically, this makes an easier route for payments to be made. Payments can be wire transferred, and companies will receive the amount within seconds. It’s amazing how technology has evolved to serve our need for convenience. Electronically-made transactions will also aid in making it easier for businesses to generate their reports and analytics. When companies generate reports faster than usual, they can efficiently monitor how well they have been performing within a selected period.
- Increase in productivity
When you have become accustomed to the flow of the procurement process, it starts to be easier. Just imagine you have your receipts stored electronically, you have your tracking system online, and your logistics and monitoring systems are also in one platform – it’s a lot easier. So, as you progress with your business as a supplier, may you be more familiar with the face of procurement. Trends and operations change now and then, but the only thing that stays the same is how much difference you can make as an entrepreneur.
- Reduced costs
Since procurement works with acquiring goods by volume and having them delivered to different locations in bulk – there’s a pretty handsome amount that you save in terms of cost. For example, as a supplier, you send out 2 to 5 shipments a day through one truck; all of these are supplies that are paid for online and are sent out using an online platform too. In this situation, you are presented with a ballpark figure of how much cost and time you save in the procurement process.
- Less paperwork
Brought by the fortunes of digitalization, we transact most of our work online. Hence, creating a lot of our receipts, agreements, contracts, legal papers, and other forms online. Sure, you need to save a copy of your documents someplace else for security purposes, but the point is that you automatically have less paper usage. Less paper use means you won’t contribute as much to deforestation, so hooray for the environment! Fun is the thing that is involved with the process of procurement.
- Efficiency Increase
Digital procurement is one of the best innovations we can have in this generation. It is a process that saves us time and money in countless areas. With the aid of technology, our transactions are simplified and placed on the role of efficiency. Digital procurement eliminates unwanted disturbances in the process of supplier-client communication. As you eliminate the unnecessary add-ons that are brought by non-digital procurement, may you have the continued urgency to keep using a single platform that gives you all the services you need?
One platform that works best for digital procurement is Shoppable Business. This eCommerce startup company has designed its platform to be in the service of suppliers. Since the platform is specifically designed for suppliers, it has all the tools and features that make work easier for companies like yours. From analytics, tracking, and sales invoice to the brand registry, Shoppable Business has got you covered!
As an entrepreneur, you want to double up on the growth and potential of your business. You want to expand across horizons you haven’t reached yet. If you’re looking to operate your business through seamless transactions, you should check out the Philippines’ first digital procurement platform called Shoppable. You can work on anything from marketing advertisements, client transactions, customer service, page optimization, and countless other perks!
Here’s why you should join Shoppable…
- It’s FREE – It’s free to start selling on the Shoppable platform. As long as you’re a legally registered business, you’ll be able to list products for free on Shoppable. You only pay a commission if an item sells on the platform, and you get paid.
- Expand your Customer base – Through Shoppable, you’ll reach thousands of new customers for free. Think of Shoppable as your marketing arm that you only pay when you have a sale.
- Get your eCommerce Store – Increase sales by digitalizing your product catalog and reaching customers worldwide. Print catalogs are dying, costly, and not environment friendly – digital is the future. Sellers can get their eCommerce store on Shoppable Business, which can be given to any client.
- Procurement Technology – Enable your customers to pay you online through Bank Transfers, Credit Cards, Over-the-Counter Payments, Recurring Payments, and more. Easily track and manage orders, payments, and shipping through the Shoppable platform.
- Shipping Technology – Shoppable has integrated directly with multiple shipping couriers, enabling you to provide same-day to next-day delivery to your customers.
- Compliance – Sales invoices and 2307’s required? Don’t worry. Shoppable has got you covered! The platform keeps sellers fully compliant, never worrying about missing documents.
- 3PL & Fulfilment Services – Need additional manpower? Shoppable can provide you with warehousing and fulfillment solutions to expand your brand to different locations enabling you to deliver products faster to your customers.
The Bottomline
To sum it all up, digital procurement is a process that sounds scary at first but will turn out to be the best friend you never knew you needed. As a supplier company, the digitalization of procurement will be one of the handiest tools that you will make use of in your journey toward achieving your business goals.
With digital procurement by your side, you wouldn’t have to worry about things like missing orders, missing receipts, and other communication mishaps. All the procurement benefits are placed all together and digitized for your benefit; as a bonus, Shoppable Business is one company that can help you from scratch or where you are now as a supplier company. So, don’t waste your time galavanting elsewhere, and jump in and join the professionals! Join Shoppable Business and reach them at [email protected]!
