Know your vendors..

Over the past year and a half or so, I have had a lot of experience in working with vendors. As many of you know, I hold a job as a customer service rep (etc) at a local dot com retail company here in Bozeman. Because we are set up to have almost every item we sell drop shipped, we are constantly on the phone with vendors trying to keep things moving in the proper way. I have translated this into our coffee business as well. Here is what I have found are key things to keep in mind when setting up accounts with different roasters, supply companies, etc: 1. Know the facts before signing the line: While in the coffee business you are probably not going to be held to just one roaster for instance, it is important to keep this in mind. What are their lead times? What will they do for your in a crunch situation? How do they ship? Are their bulk discounts and when do they apply? How are payments handled? These are all things that need to be exposed on the front side of any deal. 2. Take a test drive: What do I mean? Order some samples from different companies and see what results you get. I was recently doing this and have 5 roasters set up. I explained to all of them what I was "changing" roasters and they all seemed like they would be great. This was about a month or two ago and all I have received are samples from 3 of the 5 that were "getting them out to me". Out of those 3, not one has followed up with me as they said they would. Because of that, I have dropped all of them as possible roasters. Here is where it gets tough -- you need quality product. Keep this in mind but remember, even if the product is great, the vendor has to make sure they take care of you for the relationship to really work. 3. Communicate Talk to your vendors. If you have questions, ask. If you need a bit more time on a payment, ask. Go over every invoice and make sure you understand what you have paid and how everything works. This goes very well with number 1 above but it seems that many fail to really talk to their vendors. These are people and the more you get to know them, the better they will take care of you. Send a thank you note to your vendor if they got a large order to you. If your rep bent over backwards to get you your stuff, send his manager a note about it. If you can take care of your vendor by communicating, your life will be much easier. Those are three things that I have learned over the past months. They are loaded with other stuff but keep that in mind while you are getting your business rolling. I have talked with so many people about starting coffee businesses in the last 3 months and I tell all of them to get out there and meet the industry. This sets you up to know which vendors are going to work for you and which are not. This also gives you an idea of what to look out for in your area. This should be fun so get to your vendors.. ..be bold