Dentistry Supplies Online; Source the best Service, Quality, and Prices
If your duties include purchasing or you manage those that do, “efficiency in readiness” is your team motto. It had better be or you’ll be changing careers, or at least employers. Whatever your product or service is, without a solid supply chain, the doors close.
Just as there are risks with investing everything in one stock, there are risks to single-source procurement. In the past, I looked for vendors with the highest percentage of what I needed, from each category, then compared service, quality, and price.
Service first, because you are employing them to work for you. They should be efficient, communicative, helpful, and familiar with your industry. If you work in dentistry, daily consumables like dental bibs, caps, face wear, and cotton rolls should be sourced from one vendor. You wouldn’t call Airbus for nitrile gloves or sterilization pouches, nor would you order a turbine engine from Erskine Dental. Choose the vendor that knows what you need.
I can make errors. I know it sounds absurd, but it is true. Have you ever made an error in the quantity size? You ordered 12 cases of rinse cups, not 12 boxes. How is your vendor with returns? In my experience, many vendor company policies can be overcome through a solid relationship. Loyalty from both sides can span the bridges of company policies.
Another part of vendor service is the vendor’s preparedness. Can they respond rapidly to increased demand as your business scales up? Your company markets for growth and new customers. How ready is your storage cage?
Similarly to face-to-face vendor interactions, digital procurement requires a user-friendly interface. I don’t know about you but a website can lose me quickly if it’s clunky or confusing. Most of us will not use any difficult process. This is part of our human condition to move toward comfort. If a supplier forces you to use a difficult process, it is not respectful.
There is no need to accept poor quality from any vendor. Far too many options exist to tolerate bad products. This is why we shop around for that service relationship earlier. Problems always arise. It is the way of this world and our human error at many turns. We have to be able to communicate through them or order from elsewhere.
I place the price last on my list of vendor qualities. Who wants to chase prices on 12,000 items in a 120-day yacht construction? I did this and it was maddening. You have cost concerns and can’t throw pricing out the door, and you’ll have to set your balance point. In larger companies, you may have to convince managers or directors of your plan to carry more capital on the shelves to save cost over time.
Compile vendor information and compare their qualities. Retain every supplier relationship possible. Burn no bridge. As we see global supply chains broken, we have to have our backup plans ready to initiate to keep our company wheels turning. That small name company could become a bright light in a dark supply cage. Efficiency in Readiness.