Wholesale Supplier Questions and Answers

It’s surprising how often the same questions present themselves in the wholesale supplier industry. Irrelevant to the type of industry (within reason); whether you are thinking of sourcing wholesale products, having your own design manufactured, thinking about re-branding a wholesale product, or simply have a few initial queries about your wholesale supplier in question – there is certainly a pattern in the types of questions people need answered.

Whether you are looking into the luggage industry, consumer electronics, clothing & fashion, pet care products, or any other of the seemingly endless list of industries to which your wholesale supplier dreams are part of, the basics of the global sourcing and manufacturing industry are fundamentally the same.

Just the other day I had a wholesale supplier query in which the inquiring party requested information concerning the supply chain of their intended industry. The question was basic at most, but often the first step is always the hardest. We then had to figure out whether they required a wholesale supplier who will manufacture their own designs to order or one that they could purchase existing stock from for their own reselling/distributing purposes.

Questions

A person thinking about entering the wholesale supplier industry may not necessarily have the answer to this question right away. Maybe they do. They then proceeded to ask the following questions (I find these to apply to many of the wholesale supplier/manufacturing/sourcing industries):

- What does the overall process look like? Number of steps? Lead times? Is there still room for flexibility?

- What are the cost aspects? How do these relate to the value of the final product?

- What role do quality & standardization play? Do they have priority over innovation?

My answers were general to say the least, but you may find them useful when next you ask a query of your own wholesale supplier or manufacturer.

Answers

It is extremely difficult to say in general terms how many steps there are in your requested supply chain.  This will all depend on whether or not you will be having your items manufactured from your own designs, how similar your design is to other possible designs of that given manufacturer, whether your design is simply a polished version of an existing product offered by that manufacturer etc.  Each manufacturer will differ slightly on the way they accept payments (especially from new customers), their lead times (depends on the size of their operations, the size of your consignment, the complexity of your design just to name a few), their ability to manufacture your innovative design etc.  Each manufacturer will also give you a different (sometimes only just slightly) pricing structure - all of which will be affected by factors like your design, materials, urgency, consignment size, your location, their location etc.  As for quality and standardization, each country will generally have their own specific list of requirements for items to be accepted for sale.  You will need to check with the countries you wish to sell to for further clarification on the subject.  On the manufacturer side, this will also depend on the country in which they are located.  Quality can certainly become an issue - particularly if you are not there to oversee the process from start to finish.  As far as standards taking precedence over innovation, that will certainly come down to the manufacturer you are dealing with.

I suggest you get in contact with as many wholesale suppliers and manufacturers as possible and begin dialogue with them.

Take everything they say with a grain of salt, as you may encounter some unscrupulous operators out there that want you to pay for that sample consignment first, and ask questions later.  Most will be willing to give you detailed information about their own specific practices in the chance you may proceed with them for your requirements.  A good manufacturer will always be willing to answer questions for you, as the first question is always the first part of a potentially long and fruitful business relationship. Either way, it can't help to ask.

In conclusion

There you have it. These are the questions most people should be asking when querying wholesale suppliers and manufacturers, and in my experience most people already are. Regardless of your intended or current industry information is certainly the key. Being informed about your wholesale supplier and the way the industry works will invariably reduce your risk when it comes to the big step of money changing hands. Just remember to ask your wholesale supplier – and yourself for that matter – the right questions.