If you are a buyer for a manufacturing company that uses various electrical products in design, production, or quality control, you will need a good industrial electrical supplier. It is not a good idea to have several suppliers and call each of them to find out who has the best lead time and price. Giving the bulk of your business to one supplier is often the better buying strategy. However, it is critical that you choose a supplier that has attributes that will help you and your company. The following are among the most important.
They need to have most of what you purchase
It is often not possible to have a single source for all your company's needs. But even if you've found such a supplier, you still require a second source and sometimes a third source for your purchases, if only for strategic buying. However, if you want to purchase a large portion of your materials from one business, this will build up a strong relationship. In order for this to happen, you need to look at what you have purchased in the past, along with your future needs, and then browse online catalogs to determine how well a supplier's product offering matches your needs. Furthermore, the supplier should carry the supplies that have been approved by your design and quality engineers.
They need to have a representative assigned to you
There are times when you will need to speak to a person and not order everything online. Having a phone number to call, even one that is available with extended hours that covers your time zone, is not enough. There should be an inside sales representative that is assigned to your particular company, or you should at least be able to speak to the same person when there is a problem. In addition, they should have technical knowledge about the products they sell because there will be times when engineers and managers will have questions that cannot be found on a specification sheet.
Speed of delivery for emergency requirements
Expedited requirements are a fact of life for a buyer. There will be times when you need critical electrical material to keep a production line going, or maybe an engineer is short a part for an important prototype on a tight schedule for completion. You need to know that your distributor has both stock of the item and is able to ship in small quantities overnight. How a supplier ships the item and how it is tracked are important, so you can relay this information to production managers and engineers.
As a buyer, when you're looking for an electrical supplier for your company, you need to find one that carries most, if not all, of the products you buy. They should have someone that you can contact directly by phone when problems arise. And when you need a part quickly, they should have this product in stock and the ability to ship it quickly.
Contact an industrial electrical supplier to learn more.
