Supplier Relationship Management Tips for Amazon Merchants

Your eCommerce business is really picking up steam, thanks in part to your awesome supplier relationships.

Some drop ship to FBA warehouses on your behalf. Others offer unbelievable volume incentives. Still others allow you to private label their products, opening up Buy Box opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.

As you grow, however, maintaining such fabulous relationships can become difficult. After all, there are only so many hours in a single day.

In this post, we'll show how technology can help you maintain (or even improve) your approach to supplier relationship management.

Start with a Solid Foundation

What are the fundamental bits of supplier information that you need to run your business? If you're like most Amazon merchants, you probably track many (if not all) of the following supplier records:

• Supplier company name
• Your main point of contact (first, last names)
• Email addresses & phone numbers
• Mailing / ship-from address
• Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy details
• Lead time assumptions
• Free freight / discounted freight minimums
• Payment terms & purchase order instructions

Many sellers start out by using spreadsheets to organize this type of information. Spreadsheets are certainly better than nothing, but they also have their fair share of challenges. For example, spreadsheets can be lost or accidentally deleted. They're also not very scalable, especially as you grow your product catalog. With hundreds or thousands of rows to scroll through, the simple act of matching SKUs with their suppliers can consume too much of your time. And, in the eCommerce game, your time is money.

Take a step back from your day-to-day operations and think strategically about your supplier information management. If finding an address or SKU name takes more than a few seconds, you should seriously consider migrating your supplier data to the cloud.

Identify Common Friction Points

Not every supplier relationship is a rosy match made in heaven. In fact, some suppliers can be downright annoying to work with. Luckily, you're a pretty tolerant person and don't mind the occasional uncomfortable moment. Your long-term success is much more important than a few minor spats.

Although you can't force difficult suppliers to play nice, you can take steps to better manage such relationships. Start by asking yourself these questions:

Do I have unrealistic expectations for certain suppliers? If a supplier consistently misses your requested "ship by" dates, perhaps you should adjust your purchase order model. Could you build in an extra day or two and save everyone some frustration?

Is the restocking model not working? Perhaps you have a supplier with excellent product quality but sub-par packaging abilities. Switching from direct ship to a cross dock or local model might help you achieve the best of both worlds. (Granted, you'll be taking on more work.)

Are there frequent discrepancies? Sadly, what you order from suppliers doesn't always show up at Amazon warehouses. With so many shipments coming and going, it's often too late before you realize there's even an issue. If this is the case, you might benefit from a more automated shipment tracking workflow.

Would dealing with a different person at the company make things better? Some personalities just don't gel. If your supplier is a large enough company, you might ask to have your account switched to a different rep.

Match Your Needs with Technology

After diving into your existing vendor management process, you might determine that you need a dedicated supplier management tool, such as RestockPro. RestockPro is designed specifically for FBA merchants like you. Our software integrates to your Amazon Seller account, pulling in order data and up-to-date FBA inventory levels. Our tool then analyzes all of your data and tells you exactly when and what to reorder.

With RestockPro, it's easy to update your supplier lead times, quantity-on-hand rules, case-pack information and other details. No more digging through spreadsheets or emails. You can even use it to track your notes about suppliers. RestockPro allows you to save two types of notes: private internal comments and a note that will appear on every PO. A friendly and personal note on each PO can go a long way towards building a positive relationship with your supplier!

Best of all, RestockPro keeps all of your supplier information safe and secure. Our best-in-class security, data redundancy protocols and top-rated support team help to ensure that your trade secrets remain secret.

Build Better Relationships with RestockPro

If you're looking for a more scalable way to manage your supplier relationships, try RestockPro for free. Manage unlimited supplier relationships with no long-term contracts or commitments.