The purchasing strategy is a contingency policy and method based on market changes in order to achieve purchasing goals. This article will introduce 15 purchasing strategies recommended for consideration in foreign trade from different aspects including quality, packaging, price, order quantity, and discount.
6. Payment days (account period)–15 purchasing strategies
The payment days (account period) are closely related to the purchase price. In China, the payment days (accounting period) of general suppliers are about 30 to 90 days a month, depending on the turnover rate of different products and the market share of products. Supermarkets usually require payment for dry food products 45 days after the goods arrive, and the billing period for department store products is 60 days after the goods arrive. Because the supermarket will pay uniformly every month, the actual time for the supplier to receive the payment is about 15 days longer than the contract. The smart supplier business staff will calculate this, so you must know as a purchasing staff.
All in all, the purchasing staff should calculate the payment days (account period) that are most beneficial to the supermarket. Suppliers accustomed to exporting or having a large market share generally require shorter payment periods, and some even require cash or advance payment. Whether you can get the most favorable payment days depends on the experience and persuasion of the purchasing staff.
Under normal circumstances, the payment operation process of the supermarket is based on the payment days (accounting period) agreed by the buyer and seller on the exchange, and the bank directly transfers money to the supplier’s account. This is an advantage for supermarkets. Many retailers always push back three to four when making payments, delaying payment, which makes supplier financial scheduling difficult. Therefore, when working with a new supplier, the purchaser must ask the supplier to specify the supermarket payment process. In addition, in the early stages of the supermarket’s opening, many processes have not yet been smooth. This may cause delays in payment, which should be paid special attention to.
7. Delivery time–15 purchasing strategies
Generally speaking, the shorter the delivery time, the better. If the delivery time is short, the frequency of ordering by the other party will increase accordingly. The number of orders is relatively reduced, so the pressure on inventory is also greatly reduced, and the demand for storage space is also relatively reduced. For order quantities with long-term commitments, purchasers should require suppliers to deliver in batches, reducing inventory pressure.
Delivery time is an important parameter, and purchasers should try to negotiate with suppliers to achieve a shorter delivery time and reduce investment in inventory. However, we should not unrealistically shorten the delivery time. Otherwise, the quality of the supplier’s goods will be reduced, and the cost of the supplier will be increased, which will ultimately affect the price advantage and service level of the supermarket.
8. Delivery conditions
Because the amount of goods in and out of the supermarket is huge, if the supplier fails to cooperate closely with the supermarket in the delivery operation, it will seriously affect the operation of the supermarket. Delivery conditions include delivery by the specified date and time, free delivery to the specified location, responsible for loading and unloading, and neatly placing the product code on the pallet, and at the designated packaging location by the supermarket code (or international barcode printing) and many more.
These things seem simple, but if the buyer does not ask the supplier, various errors may occur and the operation of the supermarket will be greatly affected. Buyers are advised to take some necessary warnings or fines for low suppliers who often make mistakes.
9. After-sales service guarantee
For home appliances or electronic products that require after-sales maintenance, the purchaser must ask the supplier to provide free 1 to 3 years of after-sales service and place the warranty card in the box. The warranty card should be marked with the address and telephone number of the local repairer. In addition, the name, address, and telephone of the repairer may be changed in the future. So the supplier shall notify the supermarket purchasing staff as soon as possible. And the purchasing staff shall promptly notify the personnel of the relevant return and exchange department of the store.
Since the source of the smuggled goods is unknown, after-sales service is also a problem. And they evade state taxes, which is illegal. Therefore, purchasers must not purchase smuggled goods, otherwise, the consequences will be endless.
10. Returns
Most commodity sales companies, such as supermarkets, take the form of distribution, that is, buyout operations. Theoretically should not be a problem with returns. However, in actual operation, the supermarkets may have problems with the quality of the product itself. Or they may be misled by the supplier’s business personnel. And those would result in an excessively high inventory of the purchased goods or unsaleable goods. The sincere and forward-looking sales staff of suppliers, they should proactively resolve the problems of the supermarket-related sales staff. If the supplier’s business staff does not cooperate actively, the supermarket will generally not continue to cooperate with it. Because usually, suppliers have more sales channels to deal with such slow-moving goods.
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