Retail Vendor Setup

Retail Vendor Setup

Retail is like a team with different players with same goal of winning championships, a vendor is one of those players in the retail team gunning for a piece of the big apple pie which is profit. A vendor is a person or company who makes goods available to another company. There are vendors in each chain of distribution, the wholesalers who pick the goods from the manufacturers and sell to the retailer acts as vendors to the retailers, the retailers consequently act as vendors by selling those goods to the consumers. The retail vendor setup is such that each player can act as a vendor to the others in the game, it is therefore imperative for each player to build and maintain effective relationships with themselves in order for a smooth transition of goods to the final customers.

As much as retailers want to make profit and satisfy customers, their efforts will become futile if there is no solid relationship with the wholesaler and the consumers. Without getting the product from the wholesalers, retailers cannot act as vendors to the consumers thereby losing a lot of profit due to faulty relationship. But when there is a stable rapport between the wholesaler and the retailer the latter can get the goods without any hassle and promptly sell to the consumers. The consumers, however, are much more difficult to read, there are strategies involved in building relationships with customers since every customer differs from the other the method will be different to suit each category of consumers. It is however not enough to just seek to foster a relationship with the customer but maintaining the relationship through other strategies like promotions, one on one conversation, is the pillar that holds the transactions.

Making the most of your new relationships with your vendors is an intricate part of becoming a leading brand, the retailer has to be able to implement lines of actions that will help him build and maintain those relationships. The first step to building sustainable retail-vendor relationship by clearly defining your goals.

What does your business seek to achieve?

Establishing your goals firmly will draw vendors to your company, those goals need to be realistic with plans of achieving them. These vendors will want to buy into these, they want to know the caliber of the company they are negotiating with.

Choosing the right suppliers is another step in building the right relationships with your vendors. The retailer needs to carefully selecting suppliers that go in line with the company’s goals and objectives, retailers also need to ascertain whether the suppliers/vendors have the capabilities of catering for the needs of your target market. Choosing the right vendor goes a long way in building relationships in retail, if the vendor fails in his attempt to deliver the goods there is no way the retailer will want to foster a relationship with the company or the person acting as the vendor.

After selecting the most suitable vendor for your job, the retailer needs to manage these suppliers properly. Scheduling regular meetings with them, discussing short and long term delivery plans, negotiate on prices and agree on meeting targets. There are many other actions you can take depending on the size of the business and the current situation.