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Organising flow of supply
How do people organise there flow of supply??
for example currently I am working with 6-7 customers. I dont have any materials for there required jobs :
customer a requires – reflective vinyl in the job
customer b requires – mirrored vinyl in the job
customer c requires – may require cast vinyl in the job
customer d requires – foamex boards
customer e requires – anti graffiti laminate in the job
customer f requires – ready made banner and banner vinyl in the job
customer g requires – gold vinyl in the jobhere are the key issues that i have :
buy all the vinyl and risk customers not wanting the vinyl or changing there minds?
I can’t always get all the samples from my supplier so its difficult to communicate with the customer on what he/she wants and show them sample’s available.
is it better just to order the lot of vinyl in one go or order buy the job? if ordering in one go you save alot on carriage so works out better but it get a little complicated.
my supplier keeps alot of offcuts so works out a good rate but if i go there to get the supplies, thats a trip everytime i want something.
Just trying to find out what would be the most efficient way to get supplies in without the hassel.
ultimately its getting the right vinyl, hassel free to the cutomer efficiently.
feedback appreciated!
🙂
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10 Replies
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I start every job with a deposit and a signed proposal.
The customer is told in advance that there could be an additional charge if they change their mind about color/materials.
The deposit enables me to buy their material in.
I usually only buy from one supplier/one brand.
I have that color chart available when I sell the job.
I only have samples of things I can get in-house readily.
My supplier delivers 5 days a week with a $3 fuel surcharge so it’s not a lot of dough.
Love….Jill -
THANX JILL!!! 😀
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Stuart,
The easiest way is to build up a decent stock level. The best way to do this is to buy in all vinyls as full rolls, even if you only require 1 or 2 meters.
If you have to buy in materials for every job, you will kill yourself 2 ways:
1) You will spend your day chasing supplies, not customers / jobs
2) You waste a lot by not working from a roll. If you need 1,4 metres, you buy 2metres. Offcut= 60cm (or 30 %) Next time you need 800mm, but only have a 600 offcut……..So now you buy 1m, leaving 200 offcut. Out of 3 metres of PAID material you only used 2,2m, and have 2 useless pieces of material to show for 30% of the money you spent…
If I pull into a service station and ask for 50 litres of Super Unleaded, surely I can expect them to have it. If I had to wait for them to order it from the depot, I wont be their client for long. The same way YOUR customers may reasonably expect you to carry most of the materials you normally use in stock?
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Stuart
all suppliers should be able to supply you with swatch cards which will enable you to show your customer. Most suppliers will have a next day delivery service all though just a few mtrs will cost you delivery. Keep standard colours in full rolls ie Red, Black, White blue etc. I will very rarely show a customer a swatch, i will either match the vinyl to there logo or i will ask them the colours they want. So if they say they want Dark blue i will suggest the blue that i have in stock or offer that i can order one out of the swatch at additional cost. This helps me use my stock and i don’t have to worry about my supplier not having an odd ball shade in stock.
Unless you are offering a same day service have a minimum 3 day turn around That allows you to order any extra supplies needed and get the job made with out stocking every shade of vinyl & various substrates. Obviously as stock builds up you will be able to offer a same day service.Kev
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quote :buy all the vinyl and risk customers not wanting the vinyl or changing there minds?Use swatches and printed A4 visuals with conditions on the bottom of the sheet. You wouldn’t buy any vinyl in for a job until the customer has signed it off and once confirmed the customer cannot change their minds.
If they did decide to change their minds then you would have to charge them for any time or vinyl ordered.
Cheers John
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Thanx for all your replies!!
thats given me a whole lot more focus now
great!!
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Take time to spend money on full membership here and open up more suppliers using combined buying power, plus youll get your money back in no time with the savings you will make.
Its a tough balancing act, building and holding stock and using it within its shelf life. I made the decision to only hold a single range (within reason) of vinyl and settled with a cast vinyl. I buy & hold full or half rolls in about 15 popular colours, anything else is done as a "special order".
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what is this combined buying power you speak of graeme? 🙂
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Read the different membership levels Stuart, UKSG members get discounts from certain suppliers.
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As a member you basically join a consortium of signmakers and benefit from individuals joining together to get big boys discounts……… 😀
P.S. Im not on commission 😮
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