Factors To Consider When Choosing A Sanitary Ware Manufacturer
Starting a business can be exciting and stressful at the same time. You have invested your savings in a venture you hope will make you proud and have already laid out plans to kick the ball rolling any time soon.
You might have leased a physical location to run the business or might be planning to run an online-based commerce enterprise. Either way, if you are in the retail space, your business model is an important factor you should consider spending some more time developing.
Looking through endless lists of manufactures posing as the best product creators this world has ever seen and trying to weed out potential frauds can be more than daunting.
Vetting sanitary ware manufacturers especially is more delicate and painstaking than people might imagine. If you make a mistake and get stuck with slow-moving stock from an infamous manufacturer, your business might go under before it even attempts to go up.
Getting a reliable sanitary ware manufacturer is time and effort-consuming but a blessing in the end.
There are however several aspects about manufacturers that you can use to assess them and move you closer to zeroing in on the best manufacturer from the list.
1.Profit Is King
In any business setup, the amount of money left after settling all the bills is what matters. You have to pay taxes, overheads, employees, plow funds back, and still have something to take home.
When selecting a manufacturer ensure their products are reasonably priced to protect you from zero profit margins. Some manufactures impose MAP pricing; check that out too before even making contact.
These pricing policies can affect how you run promotions and other sales improvement programs. The overall cost of products is affected by a myriad of factors including freight and service fees.
2.Location or Abroad
The manufacture could be local or international. If they are local then you can be sure to get your goods as soon as you order but if the goods are sourced from the other side of the bolder then you need to factor in the costs and delivery times.
Shipping policies are a major migraine trigger among retailers dealing in imported products so unless you are ready to deal with customs agents you need to get yourself a local manufacturer.
A local manufacturer with showrooms offers you an opportunity to view and test products before you buy. If your business employs the drop-shipping model then the manufacturer’s location is no cause for worry.
What you should be concerned about is their shipping network. It needs to be far-reaching and strong to get your products to the third party on time and safely.
In a nutshell, their customer service team must over-deliver, their ordering process must be super easy and their ratings acceptable. You cannot struggle to sell and still struggle with the sanitary ware manufacturer.
3.Customer Service And After-Sale Warranties
Customer service is the one thing that keeps retailers going back to manufacturers even when their prices are not the best. It makes a lasting impression that keeps the relationship alive even during hard business times.
Some manufactures have regional; sales reps who are always on call to help retailers with product selection and other aspects of the supply chain. If the manufacturer does not have a sales support team on the ground, that’s a red flag.
These sales reps visit retailers regularly to deliberate on the product delivery times and listen to complaints. Working with a manufacturer whose customer service team is out of reach can be hectic, you can’t enquire about anything. The prices might be very favorable but you ought to consider other factors too.
Aside from customer service, you need to assess their approach to retailer requests for the replacement of damaged products or repairs. If they never take responsibility when the wrong is on their part then you need to get yourself a better manufacturer before you get entangled in a lawsuit with a giant multinational.
The warranties they offer are another area worth looking at, it might not be a priority but a manufacturer who offers it will be safer. If the warranty is not included in the sales agreement you might have to pay your customers for damaged goods.
The warranty is also a selling point you can use to your advantage. All these customer-related aspects will determine the kind of relationship you will have with the sanitary ware manufacturer.
4.Delivery Time And Product List
When starting a sanitary wares shop, you need to ensure you can deliver any product in this category a customer might ask for. This is where the product list comes in; the manufacturer must deliver or at least come close.
If you choose to source a particular product in the category from a certain manufacturer they must be in a position to fulfill orders especially in times of high demand.
You however need to be considerate with the timelines to expect. Too fast delivery can be a sign of low-quality products. Listen to them and try to adjust to their timelines.
A manufacturer might not offer a lot of products but have a respectable turnaround time, give them a chance. You can look for a different supplier to work with when one fails or cannot meet the immediate demand.
Ensure the manufacturer does not frequently discontinue product lines at certain times of the year, some sanitary ware manufactures produce depending on demand.
5.Product Promotion And Marketing
Ensure you get products from a manufacturer that makes an effort to market their products without depending on retailers. You do not want to stock sanitary ware from a brand no one has ever heard of.
Look out for promotions by the manufacturer to retailers like you and ask around if they involve their retailers in marketing campaigns.
Do some research about the manufacturer’s relationship with retailers; you can rely on reviews and comments on social media. You should however be wary of taking end consumer reviews seriously; their relationship with the manufacturer is different from yours.
Bottom Line
The amount of research you need to put in when vetting sanitary ware manufacturers is infinite. You learn much of what you know about a manufacturer through actual interaction. You can however verify a few details about them before signing the dotted line.
