9 Ways to find Potential Supplier

 INTRODUCTION:

It is usually said that the essence of the purchasing process lies in a rational selection of the sources from which the supplier of materials are obtained. In spite of the expertise of the purchase manager to provide technical assistance on various matters like determining price trend, helping to define quality requirements, inventory control etc, his primary responsibility is to find out suitable source of supply and ensure that the right quality of material is obtained in the right quantity at right time & place and at right price. It is one of the prime responsibilities of the purchase department to spend time & effort in thoroughly evaluating prospective suppliers & continuously appraise the performance of current suppliers. Effective investigation & evaluation combined with sound negotiation can avoid many difficulties in materials & service supplies.

In quite a few cases, the material required will be non-repetitive like plant machinery, capital items, or special product component etc.

In other cases, an item may be required on a recurring basis for a long time. There could be established supplier & the problem is merely to select one or two from many.

Another scenario is like, there may not be any supplier at all & one may have to be developed specially. Such a situation creates greater problem..

There are various ways to select & evaluate suppliers.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL VENDORS:

The first step after evaluating the need is to identify vendors. Every purchase department ust maintain a classified list of potential vendors. There are various sources from which information on suppliers of different types of materials are available. The most important of these are discussed below:   

       1.         Internet:

In today’s era, internet is the thing which helps a lot to find almost everything. There are a number of search engines which can give results in fraction of a second. All manufacturers are enlisted in the internet (through their own website or any other websites) which helps the purchaser to find the required suppliers for any specific material. It has brought all the globe under one umbrella & helps the buyer to select & compare  the vendors.

 2.       Trade directories:

There are various trade directories available, both Indian & foreign. These directories give information on the address, regional office, names, type & range of products, address of agents & dealers etc.

 3.       Trade Journals:

Many leading companies advertise in trade journals and these, therefore, constitute an important source of information about suppliers. These journals also carry articles on specific industries and often contain valuable information on developments on the industry, including product and technological improvements. https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/trade-journals.html

There are many trade journals devoted to specific industries like chemical, steels, plastics, specialty chemicals etc.  These specially contain very useful information for sourcing. Relevant information can be classified, indexed, updated and maintained in specific files.

      4.      Supplier’s Catalog:

Many manufacturers publish their product catalogs periodically, giving details of their products. These catalogs can be easily obtained on request & most of the suppliers would be too glad to provide the same if they know that their goods are likely to be purchased.

Catalogs contains considerable technical information, specifications, performance characteristics, price etc which is very much useful for the purchase department to get the correct source of suppliers.

 5.       Trade exhibition & fairs:

Exhibitions & fairs are useful places for obtaining new information on suppliers, new products or modifications etc. Exhibitions of specific products are often held, like textile industry, solar industry, motors, office equipment, electronic equipment etc. Visiting these exhibitions provides an excellent means of expanding a buyer’s knowledge on new products & suppliers.https://www.tradeindia.com/tradeshows/country/india/

 6.       Marketing & Sales personnel of Vendor :

They are very good source of information for possible source of supply. These personnel are on the move & are trained to keep their eyes & ears open in regards to the developments that take place around them. They are therefore, not only fully conversant with the potentialities of their own products but also have the great knowledge with similar products in the market. Because of their specialized knowledge sales personnel often suggest new appliances which in some cases, eliminate the search of new vendors. An alert buyer can tap this information through right approach.

 7.       Company Personnel:

Specialized personnel in the own company ay be some other departments like engineering, sales, design etc, are another good source of potential information.Through their own professional association & social groups, these people learn about new goods or suppliers. People involved in R&D usually have valuable information of this nature.

 8.       Purchase department of other companies:

Exchange of information on a mutual basis with the purchase department of other companies can be extremely beneficial not only in regard to new sourcing but also in regard to supplier evaluation and prices.

 9.       Public Tender:

One of the most common & popular method of sourcing is by advertisements in internet, websites & press.The buyers states the products & conditions he/she wants and gives other information necessary like specifications, terms of purchase. Potential suppliers respond & send their quotations. Usually there are special tender forms in which they have to furnish the required information to the buyers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_procurement

This system of open tender is adopted for international purchases also. Such tenders are also called Global tenders. Before a supplier is selected; efforts must be made to find out the various sources from where the materials can be purchased. The following aspects must be considered first:

      Ø  By what industry is the required product purchased?
Ø  What is the commercial availability of the product?
Ø  How much quantity to be purchased?
Ø  How much time is available for making such purchase?
Ø  What the purposes of the purchase i.e will the product be repeatedly purchased for consumption or will it be required as a component for manufacture or will it be a one time purchase?
Ø  What is the volume of purchase of the required item?

These questions will have to be answered before a list of potential suppliers is drawn up. All these can be done to find a potential source of supply. These options are very important because, suppliers are the key of success for every industry and therefore, searching correct supplier is very crucial part of sourcing.