Once you choose a corrugated vendor it is easy to overlook issues if they appear to not be mission critical. However, if your vendor is not regularly making delivery deadlines, having quality issues that are creating production stoppages, or is simply not responsive to your questions it is time to look for a new vendor.
Here are three areas/ questions to consider when determining if it is time to replace your current corrugated vendor.
Customer Service
Does your supplier hit your requested delivery date? Late deliveries cost you money and can hurt the trust you have established with your own customers
Does your supplier have critical relationships built with relevant people inside your organization?
The salesperson should have a relationship with contacts in purchasing, marketing, structural design and engineering, shipping, as well as accounts payable. Developing strong relationships is important to ensure you are getting superior service.
Quality
Does your vendor have a thorough quality and material return policy? Are you satisfied with the response time and corrective action response to quality issues? If you receive bad boxes, when does your sales representative come out to review the issue? Four or five days later or are they at your facility the next day? When they take material back and issue a credit, are you seeing a credit right away or are you waiting 60 or more days? Any delays in correcting the situation and/or crediting you can cost you more money.
Cost Savings
Does your vendor bring you cost savings ideas on a continual basis? Does your corrugated vendor perform packaging audits when they evaluate your packing line and make suggestions for improvements that will be a cost or time saver? A good corrugated vendor will look for ways to save you money whether it’s from reducing packaging costs, consolidating SKUs, or process improvements
Your response tells it all
If you answered no to any of the above questions, it is time to start evaluating alternative vendors. Reach out to us at info@pack-design.com. We can help get you back on track!
