India has been engrossed in Export Import Trade since ancient times. Establishing an export-import trade requires knowledge in many aspects and one of the most important aspects of exporting trade is, getting the export goods or raw materials at the lowest price possible and making maximum returns out of it. Today there are many Export Import Consultancies in India that provide guidance to aspiring exporters and lead them on the way to success. In this blog, we are going to discuss some of the best ways to look for a local supplier and finalize the same. To select and later finalize a local supplier you first need to make sure of a few things:

1 Local Exhibition and Trade Fair-

To find local and genuine suppliers an exporter must visit local exhibitions and trade fairs. Here you can get numbers of suppliers of different products and you get many options to go with one.

2 Visit to Direct Factory-

When you have selected the product and now for finalizing the supplier visit the factory of the supplier. You will get a clear idea of how big the godown/factory is and the quantity of goods they produce. Does it has a systemic work culture or not?

3 Visit to Direct Market-

It is one of the best ways to find suppliers by visiting to direct market. Like if you want to export clothes visit to cloth market, or whatever you want to export visit a market specifically dedicated to that product. There you will get big suppliers and manufacturers. There you will also get a variety of products and different ideas.

4  Personal Visits to Suppliers-

Most importantly visit the supplier personally. Visit him in a coffee shop, or restaurant but the best place to meet him will be this factory. Build trust with the supplier then only he/she will support you.

5 Contact Friends or Relatives-

It is a must-do part in finding a supplier. Contact your friends and relatives and build a strong connection. They can help you with supplier finding. Maybe they know someone who supplies the product or their friends know any supplier. You have to make a strong network. You will also get new products and ideas from them.

 6 Association Directory-

There are different associations for different products like the jewellery association it gives a directory that has a list of genuine members. If you want agriculture business, the agriculture association has a list of suppliers and members. Likewise, each product has its association.

7 Find from Google-

It is one of the simplest ways of finding a buyer. You just have to google it get the list of suppliers call each one of them and have a clear conversation with them.  

Let’s now discuss how you can select a local supplier and what must be the criteria-

• Value for money:

If you are a start-up, a key consideration in choosing a supplier may be affordability. However, cheap suppliers don’t always represent the best value for money. If you want reliability and quality from your suppliers, you’ll have to decide how much you’re willing to pay for your supplies. It is important to strike a balance between cost, reliability, quality, and service. 

• Maximum Delivery Capacity:

One of the most important factors here will be if the local supplier is physically capable of meeting your delivery requirements. You don’t want to select a supplier that could have difficulty meeting the required volume due to capacity constraints or conflicts with the scheduling of other jobs. A simple ratio of current output to capacity can provide a valuable indication of this ability. Another way to analyze the supplier’s capability is to check that the supplier can properly schedule orders and keep track of current production operations to meet their customer’s commitments. Be able to benchmark all these criteria through the customer references the supplier provides.

• Speed of Delivery and Understanding:

Being able to place frequent, small orders lets you avoid tying up too much working capital in stock. Flexible suppliers help you respond quickly to changing customer demands and sudden emergencies. If you want to cut down the time it takes you to serve your customers, suppliers that offer you a quick delivery service will rate higher than those that compete on other factors – for example, on price alone. Understanding between your supplier and you play an important role in a successful trade. A rare delay or a rare late payment is something both parties must understand and accept.

• Service and Communication:

Try to run a background check on the supplier’s history. This can help you decide if the services provided by the supplier is what he claims to be or just a facade! Try to evaluate the supplier on his ability to manage his most difficult clients. Communication is important in ensuring a good working relationship with your supplier. From the initial briefing, through continual feedback and routine meetings, your supplier should communicate openly and regularly. You need your suppliers to deliver on time or to be honest and give you plenty of warning if they can’t.

• Financial Analysis:

The financial stability of the supplier is also an important aspect because it directly affects your decision of whether to choose the supplier or not. Recently, financial performance analysis has become increasingly important among most CEOs and CFOs. Financial analysis helps to assess overall supply base risk factors and is often required in order to meet audit compliance requirements. Financial ratios help select and qualify suppliers on the basis of their financial strength, leverage and competitive advantage. To properly evaluate individual financial ratios, it is crucial that they are viewed with respect to the historical performance of the supplier or the ratios of similar firms in the industry. It’s also a good idea to periodically view financial trends. These criteria help you make a proper decision. You can follow all these criteria or choose a best-suited combination on these criteria, whatever works best for you or can go for export and import training for better understanding. Give us a visit to know about the export import Industry.