Teamwork: The Importance of Building Strong & Positive Relationships with Your Suppliers

How well do you know your supplier? What are the advantages of having a good working relationship between your company and your supplier? Do you interact regularly and communicate effectively? Naturally, having a solid partnership with your supplier will affect your company’s aspects such as product quality, competitiveness, company finances, and technological advances – but how? Additionally what many companies don’t realize is the value of maintaining strong, positive relationships with their suppliers, may strongly decrease the chance for complications in the long run. So, what are the benefits?

March 31, 2021

Consider Your Relationship A Two-Way Street

Businesses tend to underestimate the importance of positive, working relationships with suppliers. If you’re working internationally, the majority of your communication and interaction is virtual. For instance, our global pandemic and the threat of COVID-19 have affected many partnerships due to the inability to travel internationally and face interactions with suppliers. Think about it. What might have been eight to ten factory visits per year is now zero. That’s tough on both of you. Personal interactions are significant in maintaining a valuable partnership. While COVID-19 has certainly limited this type of collaboration, it’s also provided opportunities for businesses to truly reflect on their daily operations and take advantage of innovating these practices.

Your suppliers are more than just a vendor; they’re your partner. Rather than asking, “What can our supplier do for our company in order to be successful?” focus on “How can we work together and support each other to ensure we’re both successful?” To illustrate this, let’s look at the advantages of personalizing the relationship and being a valued customer:

 

Product Quality

Think about it. Higher quality products have the potential to increase customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction. Creating high-quality products provides opportunities to build positive reputations and strengthens your competitiveness. Working with your supplier to ensure good quality products are being produced is critical, as essentially this is where companies can increase cash flow – which is suitable for both you and your supplier. High-quality products lessen the risks for returns or product recalls. Having quality products enhances opportunities to increase production, ultimately growing your profits. The bottom line? The relationship that you have with your supplier will affect the quality of your product. Furthermore, stay active with your suppliers through frequent check-ups and continuous communication.

Since 2002, HBI’s team has grown relationships with our suppliers, conducting in-person factory audits and product inspections. Despite our global pandemic, HB I