Companies that are part of the supply chain such as manufacturers and wholesalers can often benefit enormously by conducting their own b2b customer satisfaction survey.
Improving the relationship between wholesalers and their suppliers and also between wholesalers and retailers brings potential benefits that will help improve the product in terms of:
- Quality, range and design
- Delivery method, speed
- Communication, method and level of service
- Payment, quality of documentation and settlement time
- Prices, wholesale and retail price
A manufacturer can improve the relationship that they have with their wholesalers to the extent that the wholesalers would need to think long and hard before they switched to a rival supplier. For example by improving the communication and being proactive in automating much of the paperwork a manufacturer can add value to the entire product range and that may be just enough to encourage a wholesaler to invest time in resolving any potential problem as opposed to making it easy for them to dictate terms by threatening to switch to a rival supplier. By adding value to the business relationship the product that is supplied moves away from just becoming a commodity item that can be sourced from anyone.
If wholesalers do not adequately value the many benefits that working with a professional and well organised supplier brings they may suffer from higher overheads and lost reputation working with suppliers that deliver sub-standard products, late without proper, clear or accurate invoice and delivery documentation.
By conducting customer satisfaction surveys aimed not at the end user but at those involved in the supply chain there are many rewards to be had. It takes a degree of understanding and consideration as to the requirement of the other to establish good and streamlined business processes between any two organizations. With the introduction of more efficient order fulfilment programmes the manufacturer and wholesaler can both benefit.
It is in the interest of manufacturers to establish long term contracts as that will provide them with the security that is necessary for them to plan and reinvest, confident that their customers value the benefits that long term relationships can bring. If a wholesaler can minimize the need to carry large stocks of items, but be confident that their supplier will be able to reliably deliver using a just in time model, they can not only reduce their overhead costs they can also free up valuable real estate and minimize the risk of being left with unsold and obsolete stock.
The starting point for such an exercise is an exchange of information that can be obtained easily by utilising online customer satisfaction survey software that is now widely available and that makes the whole intelligence gathering process quick, easy and cost effective.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: customer satisfaction, customer services, satisfaction surveys
