7 Qualities of a Great Wholesale Supplier

As a retailer, choosing a wholesale supplier that’s right for you and your business can play a vital role in your company’s success. The first things many entrepreneurs and business owners take into account when choosing a supplier are often product quality and pricing, but there are a number of other aspects that separate the “good” suppliers from the “great” suppliers.

 

Selecting a wholesaler may feel like a daunting process, especially if you’re new to the retail industry. But don’t fret!

 

In this article, we’ll dive into seven qualities of a great wholesale supplier so you know what to look for during your selection process. The right supplier can make your job as a retailer a lot easier or a lot harder. Let’s make sure it’s the former!

 

To start, let’s get the basics down.

 

What exactly is a wholesale supplier?

 

A wholesale supplier is a company that sells products to retailers for resale. Because these goods are typically bought on a large scale, the price the retailer pays is usually reduced so the retailer can then mark up the price on resale in order to make a profit.

 

There are a number of different types of wholesale suppliers: Some serve as a middleman between the manufacturer and retailer; others are manufacturers that distribute directly to the retailer (or the customer if they offer dropshipping services); and others provide sourcing services, which is finding specific products from different manufacturers for a retailer.

 

So what sets one wholesale supplier apart from another? Let’s dive into seven traits that take a supplier from “good” to “great”.

 

What are the qualities of a great wholesale supplier?

 

1. Open and Honest Communication

First thing’s first: You have to be able to trust that your supplier has you and your business’s best interests at heart. One way for a supplier to build that trust is to be open and generous with any and all information about its products, services, quality control protocols, production processes, shipping methods, timelines, pricing, staff, and more. If you get the sense that a supplier is not providing you with all of the information you need, that’s a red flag. At TVCMALL, we guide our customers through every step of the supply process and ensure that we can provide as much information along the way. Our slogan is “Together we thrive”, meaning we understand that when your company succeeds, we succeed.

2. Knowledge of How Their Products Sell

A great wholesale supplier will equip its retailers with all the tools they need to select products that will sell well and help their companies thrive. For example, at TVCMALL, we provide our customers with complimentary market reports on the products we offer. That way, our retailers can clearly see what’s selling well and what’s not. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of the product selection process. If a wholesale supplier doesn’t provide information on how their products perform, you may want to look elsewhere.

3. Ethical Practices

In this day and age, customers want to know that the products they purchase were made under humane work conditions. Before going into business with a wholesale supplier, don’t be afraid to ask about how the products they sell are produced. At TVCMALL, we care just as much about our hard working staff as we do about our customers. When our colleagues thrive, we thrive. Tying into item #1 above, if a wholesale supplier isn’t open and honest about working conditions, this may be a red flag.

4. Wide Range of Products

One thing that can take a supplier from “good” to “great” is their range of products. As a retailer, sourcing from a number of suppliers can create a lot of extra work. If you’re able to go to one trusted supplier for all of your retail needs, you can spend more of your time focused on your business and less time keeping track of product availability, order statuses, delivery dates, etc. from different suppliers. Just be sure that the variety of products doesn’t come at a cost to quality. TVCMALL offers a wide array of high-quality products, and if a customer can’t find exactly what they need, we source it for them. But more on that in item #7!

5. Manufacturing Capabilities

As mentioned previously, many wholesale suppliers serve as the middlemen between manufacturers and retailers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there can be perks to working with a supplier that manufactures its own goods. You may see a beneficial difference in product pricing by cutting out the middleman. Additionally, by working directly with a manufacturer, you may be able to customize products to better suit your company’s brand and needs or employ that manufacturer to produce an original product for your company. TVCMALL is a supplier that produces a majority of the products it offers, meaning we have total control over the design, quality, and customization of those products. More on customization below!

6. Customization Capabilities

Finding a wholesale supplier that offers customization services can be a game changer for you and your retail business, giving you the ability to put your brand’s unique stamp on a product and increase brand exposure exponentially. Working with a supplier like TVCMALL means you can select a product that’s proven to sell well and make it your own - from product logos, graphics and colors, to customized packaging.

7. Sourcing Capabilities

Last but not least, a final trait that can take a wholesale supplier from “good” to “great” is whether or not it offers sourcing services. As an entrepreneur, you have a vision for the products your retail business sells. Occasionally, finding the exact product you have in mind can be difficult. TVCMALL has an eclectic inventory of high-quality goods, but occasionally there are specific items that our customers are in need of that we don’t have on hand. In those scenarios, we find their desired product for them. This saves our customers from the headache of hunting the product down themselves and coordinating with an additional manufacturer or wholesaler.

Finding the right supplier for your retail business may feel daunting, but it’s worth taking the extra time and effort to ensure you’re forming a business relationship that works best for you and your company.

 

TVCMALL is a supplier superstore offering a wide array of quality products at wholesale prices. We’ve all heard the phrase “quality over quantity”, but when it comes to TVCMALL’s selection, you can count on quality and quantity. Our products aren’t the only thing we offer either. At TVCMALL, we help our clients’ businesses thrive through step-by-step guidance and holistic business solutions to help get new retail companies off the ground and take existing companies to the next level of success.

 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a TVCMALL representative today!