The art of dealing with suppliers

When you're running a small retail business, you have to be prepared for suppliers to call, either over the phone or in person, frequently. And, Murphy's Law being the prevailing rule in business, they'll call when you're swamped with customers and taking deliveries from existing suppliers and your staff have called in sick so you're short-handed.

If that's the case, suggest to suppliers who call on the phone that they call you back when you're free, and pick a slack time (there's always going to be one during the day). Note down the caller's name, company and phone number and the day and time you suggested for a return call. There's no rush like the one you get when you're talking to a supplier's rep who's walked in and then find out, when another supplier's rep walks in, that your appointment was with the second one. Especially if they're selling the same products or line of products.

If the supplier's rep calls in person when you're busy, get his or her business card and sales literature and say you'll call back if you're interested. The last three words are very important: You may find that the products offered are not what you want to carry or the price point is too high and you don't want to have to spend time talking on the phone with the supplier's rep if you can't do business with them. They'll call back, and that's when you can turn them down politely.

If the supplier's rep is aggressive, turn him or her down politely. It's your store, it's your money, and it's your time.

Keep a log book for all orders. Have columns for the date, name of the supplier, what products were ordered and the quantity, and have a column for remarks. At the end of the order, note down who placed the order, who took the order and the time the order was placed. That way, if the supplier delivers the wrong items or forgets to deliver (and that happens), you know who's responsible at both ends and have proof of what was ordered.

When the order is delivered, check the pick list against what was delivered and check that against your order in the log book. Sometimes, when suuppliers are busy or the delivery man makes a mistake, the order either will not match the pick list or, if matches the pick list, will not match what is ordered. If everything is correct, the person who took delivery must sign and date a copy of the pick list for the delivery man, then note in the 'Remarks' column the date the items were received, and initial it. If the wrong quantity of items is delivered, make a note in the 'Remarks' column and say what was done - whether the order was returned or whether 5 boxes were delivered instead of 7, for example, and make a note of that on the pick list before you sign that and return it to the delivery person.

I suggest following up as soon as possible with a call to the supplier explaining what happened and making a note of the call so that you won't have any surprises at the end of the month when you get your invoices.

Always check the shelf date of products delivered. For pastries and coffee beans, I suggest sampling - brew a pot of coffee from the latest delivery and taste-test a couple of pastries. That way, if the supplier mistakenly delivered stale pastries to you, you'll know it before your customers tell you and can get them swopped out.

Taste testing coffee is critical because you can't beat freshly roasted beans. Sample both your drip and your espresso coffees. Many small roasters now date stamp the bags their coffee comes in, but brew and sample anyway. Once in a while, bags will be wrongly labeled, and, instead of getting 5 bags of dark roast, 4 of light roast and 3 of espresso beans, you might get 10 bags of light roast and 3 of espresso beans. It's happened.

Occasionally, the roaster will over- or under-roast your beans, and sampling will let you find out before you begin selling the beans. Over-roasted beans taste burnt and bitter, while under-roasted beans taste harsh. If you're not sure, check the flavor of the sample against the previous week's beans.

Once you have selected your suppliers, are happy with the quality of their products and they have agreed to supply you, make sure you pay them on time and stick to teir ordering and delivery schedule. Initially, for a new business, suppliers will take orders on a C.O.D. (cash on delivery) basis only, which means you pay for the supplies when you take delivery.

After a while, you can ask for a credit application and get one. Credit terms range from 14 to 30 days, and you must make sure you pay your bills on time so as to keep your suppliers' trust.

It is critical to stick to the suppliers' order and delivery schedules as well. If, for example, your coffee roaster wants you to place your order on Tuesday by 5 p.m. so he can deliver your beans by 5 p.m.. Thursday, make sure you place your order by the deadline. That will make things easier for your supplier and, over time, he or she will be willing to stretch things a little to help you out in an emergency.

Always treat your suppliers like business partners; both of you will benefit from working together over time. So if, for example, a new supplier offers to provide you an item at a better price than your current supplier, check out the new supplier's reliability first; it could be a bait-and-switch and you might end up paying more for the product in the long run.

If the new supplier's products are just as good as your current supplier's, and the pricing is competitive, go back to your current supplier and tell him that you've been approached by a competitor who has better pricing and ask if he or she can match that pricing. If your current supplier cannot match the pricing, but comes close, stick with him or her; that builds up goodwill and you're working with a proven supplier whom you already know well. And if you need a favor one day, you might be able to call it in.

However, if you find that your current supplier is causing you problems, look around for another one without announcing anything. Check out potential new suppliers' pricings, delivery schedules and business reputations, then, when you've picked one, have a meeting with him or her and explain why you're making the change and set a date for new deliveries. Then pay off your old supplier.

Changing suppliers is not something to be undertaken lightly; but, when you have good reason to do so, you should make the business decision to go ahead with it. Remember, it's your business and your money.