What to Expect During Supplier Visits and How Mawson Global Can Help

When you’re contemplating visiting your suppliers, it’s helpful to remember some advice from “Sesame Street:” “Asking questions is a good way of finding things out.”

At Mawson Global, we have the expertise and the skills to make supplier visits successful -- and educational. Whether you need a guide on-site or someone to visit potential suppliers on your behalf, we can help.

If the supplier is new to your organization, one of your primary goals should be to validate claims that they make in sales presentations and proposals. If the supplier is one that you already use, it’s helpful to conduct an annual renewal evaluation or a periodic cost negotiation.

Here are some tips on how Mawson Global can help you get the most out of a supplier visit:

• Visit the receiving dock. On the dock, we can help you find the names of suppliers and the quantities of raw materials on hand. We will help you compare the information that you have received from cost-analysis negotiations to what      we can observe on-site.  Here is a great place to see if the product you are buying is really made in the      factory or just shipped in from the real producer!
  
  
• Visit the shipping dock. Here we can see the condition of finished goods, observe the quality inspection process and learn how shipments are handled.  Making sure the quality inspectors (preferably third party) understand what you are looking for is one of the most important issues to solve on a supplier visit.
  
  
• Talk to the sales staff. We ask how orders are received, entered, and queued for production or fulfillment, and whether electronic notifications to the customer are available at every step.
  
  
• Talk to line employees. We’ll check on company morale and organization, and ask specific employees specific questions. For example, it’s helpful to ask machine operators about their productivity per hour so you can verify any commitments the sales team has made to order delivery dates.
  
  
• Talk to management. We’ll ask about such things as communication structures, employee turnover, and how long management has been in place. If relevant, we’ll help you peruse the company’s financial statements and business plan.  Here you are trying to get a feel for how committed the whole company (not just the sales department) are to your project.

 Mawson Global is able to minimise the risks associated with global sourcing specifically because we have employees based in the countries where the suppliers are located. Our sourcing directors know which questions to ask, and we understand the local languages and cultures.

We’ll find a supplier who understands your quality requirements, and with whom you can develop a long-term partnership. Most importantly, our service will slash your costs and increase your profits.

Get your free, no-obligation QuickLook Analysis by filling out our QuickLook enquiry form.

Delays in Shipping and Logistics

The Scenario:

Your product has been shipped and you have promised a delivery date to a client. You now are hearing it has been delayed for an extra 12 days in Singapore. Your client is on the phone every 2 hours demanding to know when it will be delivered and you wish your freight forwarder would just call you back!

Although logistics is usually only a small part of the total cost of an imported item it is what can give you some of your largest headaches.  It is also the easiest part of the process for your suppliers to blame for delays.

The best way to resolve most of these problems is to choose a freight forwarder with exceptional service.  The ocean or air rates will all be quite similar between forwarders so choose the one who can provide instant answers on the status of your shipment. 

Also make sure they provide all the options on routes before you book.  It may be only cost $100 more to get a direct line and avoid the risk of transhipment delays (like in our Singapore scenario!)

Another good tip for less than container amounts of goods is to ship them as a full container.  Your freight rate per item will increase but you will have total control over where the container is going.

Remember that for you and your clients bad news about delays is better than confusion!

How to Evaluate Suppliers

Every company should have expectations that their suppliers will be honest, socially conscious, lawful and proceed with strong safety measures.

Firstly, suppliers should strive to minimize the total cost of their products and services, so your company can offer the greatest value to your customers. Remember value is not just about product cost so make sure you evaluate the other costs of the relationship. Additionally, suppliers should be able to provide a stable supply stream and respond quickly to any problems or inquiries that may arise. Suppliers that can support your company’s local, regional and global efforts are best. And finally, a work environment where suppliers keep the health and safety of customers and employees in mind is critical.

If you are presented with list of a few hundred potential suppliers, begin your evaluation by narrowing that list down to five suppliers at most. Make an effort to keep the key factors mentioned above in mind. Next, contact each of these suppliers and perform a set of checks you see are important. The feedback you get from this interview should help you to further narrow your potential list of suppliers from five to two or three, having done so by considering both the pricing and non-price factors.

After narrowing your list, confirm the legitimacy of those two or three suppliers. You should verify:

• that the supplier has loyal customers.  All the certificates and promises in the world mean nothing if the supplier cannot give you satisfied clients for you to contact!
• that the supplier has a strong control system and that they have quality experience in production so they’re able to supply your company with what they say they will.
• that the supplier is financially stable and has a good reputation. Professional service providers are available for your company to use in order to conduct these verification factors at relatively reasonable prices. Professional services are great if your company does not have the resources in place in-house that are necessary to assess suppliers.

Lastly, negotiate pricing and then move into the actual production process.

Once you have chosen the appropriate supplier, begin to establish an on-going relationship. Perhaps you can consider not requiring advanced payments once you have a strong business relationship set-up with a supplier, or be open to renegotiating conditions down the road if there is fair reason to do so with your chosen supplier.