Any manager knows that a good supplier is a rarity. Not every person can cope with such work. And some even believe that you need to be born or be one at heart.

Helpful employee

In the structure of any enterprise there is a special service called the “supply department”. Some consider it an ordinary unit, but this is not entirely true. To understand the essence of the problem, you must first understand who the suppliers are and why they are hired? Everyone knows that to produce products for any purpose, three main components must be available:

1) Raw materials and supplies.

2) Equipment and other tools.

3) Labor force.

Each of them is equally important. So the supplier is the person who ensures the availability of the first component. Moreover, he is obliged to do this with maximum benefit for the enterprise.

What is meant in this case? We are talking about the principles that such an employee must adhere to. In essence, a supplier is an employee who provides the native enterprise with raw materials and supplies:

• to the maximum short time(if necessary);
• concluding contracts at the minimum price;
• within the given time frame;
• to the planned extent.

From here it is clear that a supplier is one whose activities enable any company to work systematically, uninterruptedly and with minimal costs. And this should certainly lead to increased profits.

What should the supplier do?

An enterprise can only work well when each employee knows and conscientiously fulfills the duties assigned to him. If everything is clear with the employees of the main production, then the functions of the rest must be clearly defined. Thus, the responsibilities of the supplier include:

1) Compilation of certain materials.

2) Concluding relevant agreements on behalf of or on behalf of the manager.

3) Ensuring timely delivery of goods to the territory of the enterprise.

4) Monitoring the integrity of delivered goods.

5) Ensuring the availability of documentation necessary to confirm the quality of raw materials (certificate, passport or other document).

All work is carried out in stages:

1. First, the supplier must draw up a work plan based on the regulatory needs of the enterprise. Moreover, each specific type of material must be calculated separately. At the same time, you need to decide on the desired quality.
2. Then comes the moment of finding a partner. Business trips and phone calls come into play here. From large quantity suppliers must be chosen whose terms are preferable.
3. After this, the employee goes to the partner to conclude an agreement.
4. The final stage is the receipt of the goods, their packaging and delivery to the unloading point. At the same time, the supplier deals with all support documents.

If each of the listed stages is correctly calculated and completed, then such a company will have everything it needs to work. This means that her employee is really in the right place.

What is the supplier allowed to do?

In order to perform the assigned task well, any employee needs to have more necessary information, as well as all possible help and support from management. That is why the “Job” of the supplier contains not only duties, but also his rights, which should be sufficient for the normal organization of work. The main ones include:

1) The ability to request the information he needs from employees of the relevant services. For example, the supplier must be aware of the plans of the enterprise, which are drawn up by economists. He needs to understand financial condition companies at the moment to navigate purchasing prices.

He should know from the chief engineer about the availability of free transport in case of organizing self-pickup.

2) To complete a specific task, the supplier sometimes requires assistance and direct assistance from management. Based on the instructions, he has the right to demand it. For example, to make an advance payment, the supplier must give instructions to the chief accountant.

3) If during the work any shortcomings are revealed, he can make his proposals for their possible elimination.

Having such rights, a good specialist can always perform his work in such a way that there are no complaints against him either from management or from employees of the main production.

Important points

Any personnel officer knows that the supplier’s instructions, in addition to rights and responsibilities, contain a list different types responsibility. In such work, there are often times when a person must make a decision on his own, taking into account only his own integrity and moral principles.

For example, the supplier offers to give the goods at an inflated price, and as compensation to pay the supplier a certain amount in cash. In this case, a positive answer will lead to financial overruns for the enterprise, and for the employee there will be a significant unplanned increase in salary. The only question is whether the employee will agree to this. If so, he will violate his duties, which clearly reflect the direction of his activities. The “Responsibility” section states that the supplier will have to be held accountable by law for all violations committed. This is where decency manifests itself, and therefore compliance with the very position that he occupies. It’s good if during the entire work this last part of the instructions does not affect him.

Kuzminova Anastasia Leonidovna, Ph.D.
Chikalov Alexander Mikhailovich,
Frunze Lyudmila Nikolaevna.
company "STRATUM Consulting", Chelyabinsk, [email protected]

Of the top management, only 12% are satisfied with the activities of the supply service, while it is supply that determines where up to 80% of all funds intended for the current needs and capital expenses of the enterprise will be directed. From the practice of work of specialists of the company "STRATUM Consulting" with industrial enterprises Chelyabinsk region.

The work of the supply service, like a mirror, reflects the results of the enterprise as a whole. The classic conflict of interests between different departments of an enterprise is normal conditions habitat supply service. Suppliers are traditionally faced with tasks that are diverse and contradictory in nature. Sales and marketing services are aimed at increasing sales volumes and high-quality satisfaction of customer needs; accordingly, they will strive to increase inventories at all stages of production, so as not to inadvertently disrupt incoming orders. A similar position will be supported by the production service, since high inventory standards provide a greater degree of reliability in work, thereby preventing breakdowns and downtime: “the stock does not weigh on your pocket and allows you to live more peacefully.” The financial service will strive to optimize the financial cycle and reduce inventories to the lowest possible level, reducing current payments and storage costs and increasing the turnover of current assets. Well, the supply service, in any case, remains out of favor with one or another unit, hence the dissatisfaction of management (78%, you see, is not at all small). Minor and major shortcomings and current problems of each department are accumulated in the supply work.

“God is in the details,” at least that’s what the great 20th-century architect, founder of minimalism, Mies Van Der Rohe said. And when applied to our situation, let’s add: details are something that a manager never gets around to. The breakdown of the problem into details is often missed by management when analyzing and developing an action plan, although sometimes they contain the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the efforts made, as well as the answers to the question “what to do.”

There are three universal parts in the supply mechanism, on the basis of which it is possible to produce comprehensive assessment operation of this mechanism and develop a program of action. So, the details in order:

First detail: STARTING CONDITIONS

The starting conditions that determine the efficiency of the supply service include state of the art information technologies , the planning principles used and the material consumption standards existing at the enterprise.

The starting point is the level of automation of document flow and data processing; this is what determines the ability of an enterprise to qualitatively plan and control purchases. Enterprises that have taken the path of implementing corporate information systems (in common parlance, CIS) significantly increase their chances of speeding up the process of working with information (with all the ensuing consequences) and establishing effective interaction between services.

The next transfer point is planning system. In order to correctly calculate the amount required material to ensure production, you need to proceed from the number of parts that will be put into production over a certain period. It is “put into production”, not “released and transferred to the warehouse” finished products". More than once or twice in factories we have to deal with the fact that the calculation of the need for materials is carried out according to the production program, without taking into account the stock of material in workshop warehouses and work in progress. This is easier and faster, while in warehouses there are stocks and " "unfinished items" can be entire bins. And as a result, "if you do the math well," the picture of the need for materials can change exactly the opposite: for example, at one plant, when accounting for inventories, instead of having to purchase 20 tons of metal, they received a surplus of 2.5 tons , that is, this plant can operate on existing reserves for another month.

Significant errors in determining the required volume of purchases are the main cause of all supply problems for a manufacturing enterprise. Its direct consequences are known to the overwhelming majority of managers: these are inflated inventories, cash diverted from circulation, and unreasonably high storage costs. But! Among other things, errors in determining the required volume of purchases are a condition for constant emergency work in supply work. And he (rush), in turn, is nothing more than fertile ground for abuse - inflated prices, unreasonable prepayments, and erroneous purchases of what is already in the warehouse can be attributed to rush crunch.

Thus, it is impossible to improve the supply chain by bypassing the issue of accurately determining the volume of purchases, just as you cannot lose weight forever by taking pills. There are no miracles.

And finally, the last component in the starting conditions of the supply service - those operating at the enterprise consumption standards for raw materials, materials and components. If they are inadequate, not a single advanced corporate information system or perfected planning system will work. At their core, consumption rates can be compared to a set of chromosomes that determine the viability of an organism (in this case, an enterprise). If an error creeps in at the genetic level, the organism quickly dies - nature ordered it this way.

Detail two: DESIRABLE AND ACTUAL

Of the many topics in the field of procurement, we will choose the most pressing one for managers - control. The purpose of control is to ensure that the desired (purchase prices are not higher than market prices, the quantity is not more than required...) and the actual.

In purchasing control, everything and everyone revolves around prices. Favorite method control of purchase prices- entrusting this function to the economic planning department or creating a specialized structural unit. In the vast majority of cases, this only comes down to the fact that a group of employees searches for information in paper price guides (for example, “PRICE”), as well as on the Internet, and based on the information found, makes verdicts on the accounts provided by suppliers. At the same time, even a minimal verification of the collected information (prices, availability of goods in the warehouse and supplier in nature) by a simple phone call is very rare.

It is not surprising that, feeling the vulnerability of their position, the “controllers” easily give them up. They allow suppliers to convince themselves that the purchase price being one and a half times higher than what the “inspectors” found is completely justified: this is the small size of the purchase lot, the urgency, the appropriate quality of the product, and so on... they have a large set of convincing funds.

Electronic procurement systems are a very effective way to reduce purchasing prices and find profitable (for the enterprise!) suppliers. Their use helps to break the inertia, and in some cases, the dishonesty of other suppliers, who, to the detriment of the enterprise, continue to purchase products at high prices from the existing circle of partners, without noticing or ignoring suppliers who are ready to offer materials of equal quality at more low prices.

Internet systems for direct procurement provide tremendous results. One supply department employee processes on average 31 invoices per month, which, in terms of days, is 3 invoices in 2 days. At the same time, working according to the old scheme, he is able to make no more than 15-20 meaningful phone calls per day. By using electronic system he gets the opportunity to place or send proposals for the purchase of thousands of items to hundreds of suppliers, study the counter-offers received from them and choose the optimal delivery conditions for the enterprise.

But even having solved the problem of price control, it is too early to calm down: in the event that an obviously inflated price does not pass the control, there is a proven remedy, as simple as anything ingenious. History from the region volume control of purchases: suppose the supplier brings an invoice for prepayment, which includes 12 tons of metal for 10 thousand rubles, a total of 120 thousand rubles. The price corresponds to the market price, there are no problems, the company makes payment. Later the metal arrives, and in the invoice we see: 10 tons of metal for 12 thousand rubles, a total of 120 thousand rubles. Since payment has already been made, the invoice is sent to the accounting department. The final figures agree: the amount of payment made is equal to the cost of the metal supplied, the transaction is closed and the 20% overpricing goes unnoticed.

Of course, in practice the combinations are somewhat more complicated, but the essence is the same - that what is price controlled and checked for the feasibility of the purchase does not correspond to what later arrives at the warehouse.

The cure for such a primitive, but very common “trick” is also quite simple: after receiving an offer from the supplier, a document is generated (let’s call it an “order control sheet”), which provides all the data on the nomenclature, quantity and prices of purchased assets, payment terms and other information. The order control sheet, together with the invoice for prepayment, goes through the entire approval chain, after which it serves as the basis for issuing a power of attorney, and is then sent to the warehouse. In the warehouse, as materials arrive, appropriate notes are made. The warehouse is prohibited from receiving anything that is not on the order sheet. With this procedure, the controlling authority can quickly establish the correspondence of what was paid and what was actually received. Note that the remedy only works when the warehouse is not subject to supply. Otherwise, it, like other procurement controls, does not work.

Final detail: MATERIALS GUIDE

And finally, there is a third component in the supply service system - arrival at the warehouse. Just as theater begins with a coat rack, abuse begins with disorder. Where can order in a warehouse begin? First of all, to call everything by its proper name.

Accounting for the availability and movement of inventories is based on this principle. His scourge is doubles. Individual items can be duplicated, for example, at one plant a 20-liter glass bottle was immediately under 6 different names, and accordingly, item numbers, or entire directories can be: one in production, another in accounting.

It is clear that each doubling increases chaos: starting with erroneous and deliberate purchases of what is already there, ending with painful inventory and drawing up reconciliation reports. At the same plant, 15% of material cards turned out to be duplicated; they accounted for 10% of all warehouse stocks. Let's add here the loss of time on entering the cards themselves, searching for errors and eliminating them.

The standard path followed when creating a directory is to use All-Russian classifier products (OKP), where a six-digit code denotes classes, subclasses, groups, subgroups and types of products.

Let us remember: “God is in the details”! For a material, not only the type of product matters, but also the variety of its characteristics (brand, size, power, etc.). And their codification and naming is left to ordinary employees. This is where six names for one bottle appear.

Each enterprise requires a set of clear principles for verbal designation and coding of inventory items. Specific items (for example, ore concentrates and other raw materials, as well as spare parts and other poorly standardized nomenclature) will have to be dealt with separately, developing your own coding principles, and for standard nomenclature items (for example, rolled metal), there is no need to independently invent reference books . They can be purchased from professional e-commerce market operators. There are a number of electronic exchanges on the Russian Internet that approach the classification problem quite responsibly: their classifiers are based on reference books and GOST standards developed by the Research Institute of Standardization.

By the way, based on such a directory, an enterprise will solve the problem of controlling purchase prices much better: by subscribing to the required price base, offers from suppliers from all over the country can be viewed directly in its own information system, without having to bother searching for each position in two different directories.

You can write about the details for so long that no leader has enough time to read. Moreover, it is not enough to independently identify and analyze everything important nuances and base the change program on them. To work on the “details,” analysis and development groups are created at the enterprise; the work is “sawing” piece by piece and distributed among departments and services. Another option for solving this problem is the work of third-party consultants.

Details are what determine the essence of any mechanism. The work of the supply service is made up of details, and in this work, as in a mirror, all the “distortions” of the enterprise are reflected. As they say, “there’s no point in blaming the mirror…”.

“Greetings, reader of The Diary of a Marketer. Let's talk about a topical topic in almost any retail, and not only retail, business. Let's talk about kickbacks in supplies. It is no secret that the problems of companies associated with kickbacks appeared a long time ago, and most likely are unlikely to disappear. Do we need to fight this? And most importantly, how to eradicate rollbacks in the company’s supply? This is exactly what this article will discuss.”

In order for companies to survive and develop in modern market conditions, they need to constantly increase their profits. This is understandable, but... How to achieve this? One way is to reduce costs when purchasing goods. However, this is where the company hits a wall in the form of a procurement employee who, in general, is not interested in developing the company's business, but is interested in increasing personal wealth. Due to what? One option is a bribe.

The question arises, what does marketing have to do with procurement department kickbacks? And the most direct thing is. The task of marketing is to ensure the satisfaction of the buyer's requests and needs, and not the personal motives of the supplier.

The assortment in the store should be planned based on the buyer’s preferences and, at a minimum, logic. Remaining stocks must also be adequate to sales and supply capabilities, but not to the desires of suppliers. And lastly, reducing the costs of an enterprise and increasing its profits - isn’t this the final goal of marketing?

I have no personal dislike for purchasing managers, in fact I like them. I have very good relationships with many, even friendly with some, but as Bodrov said in the film Brother-2: “All the power is in the truth.”

In Russia, bribes and kickbacks in procurement departments are, for the most part, the norm. According to statistics, and you can’t help but believe them, more than 70% of suppliers present purchasing managers with 1 to 15% of the cost of the goods shipped in the form of a personal bonus or kickback.

In addition, suppliers officially pay companies to promote their products on store shelves. And also, based on statistics, among suppliers from 10 to 50% belong to the category of “haulers” and this depends on internal control in the company itself.

Of course, all additional costs, including kickbacks to the supplier, are included in the price of the product (everyone wants to make a profit). And as a result, taking into account the margin of the retailer itself, the final price for the buyer is 10-20% higher.

Negative aspects of rollbacks in retail supply

• The supplier suffers losses and inflates the price, which causes sales volumes to decline.
• Retail incurs additional costs due to price and delivery conditions.
• The buyer spends either too much or does not spend at all, but remains without a purchase.
• And even a supplier who has received a double benefit (one in the form of a kickback, the other in the form of a salary) is forced to break the law, wear out his nerves and work under pain of dismissal if the secret is revealed.

Introducing a new product into the assortment. In this case, the bonus amount to the supplier can reach up to 5% of the delivery amount. For the network, this threatens with inflated prices and occupation retail space, untested product.

Purchase commercial equipment to equip retail network. This category also includes the purchase of household and office supplies to ensure the operation of the office. The kickback amount can reach 20% of the delivery amount. For any company, these are inflated costs that may not pay for themselves.

Ordering excess or perishable goods. Not only does retail (mainly grocery) incur costs for writing off expired goods, which cannot always be returned to the supplier. There are also increased costs for storing excess goods in the warehouse and warehouse congestion, which can lead to even more high costs to increase the warehouse area (for example, purchasing a new one) or the lack of storage capacity hot commodity. The amount of the supply department manager's kickback can reach 10% of the order value.

Display of goods in advantageous places. Sometimes a product appears in the best place trading floor is not related to merchandising criteria or increasing profits, but to the initiative of the supplier. In this case, the chain loses money that could have been received from the supplier for profitable placement of goods (payment for the golden shelf, a completely official marketing income item for any retailer, it’s just that suppliers do not always know about this and act through suppliers). The kickback in this case can be up to 10-15% of the cost of monthly or quarterly sales of goods. By the way, if you go the official route, it can be much cheaper.

How to identify kickbacks in the procurement department?

The task of identifying the receipt of a kickback by a purchasing department manager is not very simple, but it is quite solvable. This should be handled by the company's security department or management. The following lists the main features of working with a recoil system from suppliers. All of them are indirect, but their totality will allow us to draw the right conclusions.

First of all, don't distrust rumors. Human envy is a very strong thing and it is ineradicable. I’m not saying that every rumor needs to be believed, but it’s still worth checking them and keeping a closer eye on them.

Secondly, it is worth paying attention to the standard of living of the supplier. It is unlikely that an employee with a salary of 30,000 - 40,000 rubles per month can afford to maintain an expensive, prestigious foreign car or an apartment in an elite building in the city center. It is not a fact, of course, that these funds were obtained through kickbacks, but it is worth paying attention to.

Thirdly, often, negotiations on kickbacks are always conducted outside the company’s walls. It is worth observing the manager of the supply department who goes to the client for negotiations.

Fourthly, price monitoring is necessary, and constant. If a competitor has a cheaper price, then you need to clearly understand what you are overpaying for. Naturally, there are a lot of objective reasons, for example, a smaller supply volume or additional service(supplier’s own delivery), etc., but you need to pay attention to this.

One option is to test purchasing department managers with a polygraph. Naturally, these are additional costs and the employee’s consent is required, but as a result, the costs can be recouped many times over. And it is advisable for the company management, when using this method, to set a personal example.

Sixth, indirect signs of the existence of a kickback include the primacy of payment of bills from the same company. Those. The manager of the supply department has a “favorite” among suppliers, whose interests are beginning to be lobbied within the company.

How to deal with kickbacks in the procurement department?

When, based on indirect signs, it is possible to identify the supplier’s interest in a particular company, but there is no clear evidence, it is necessary to take action. What can you do in this case:

1. Transfer the supplier company to another manager, reduce purchase volumes (if possible, without reducing sales), and delay invoice payments. The supplier who is paid a kickback has a number of agreements and must earn his money. In this case, they will take certain steps to improve the situation - here everything will become clear.
2. Clearly communicate to all suppliers what official opportunities the company has for presenting the product at a retail point of sale. It is advisable that this communication is not carried out by the purchasing department manager.
3. Renew contracts for the supply of goods with the inclusion of a clause on serious fines for the supplier if the facts of kickback are established. And a complete breakup of any relationship. In case of “extortion” of a kickback from the supply department, provide data to the company management, i.e. simply hand over the supplier. The supplier is not interested in losing his customers (in the form of a store) and in the case of a choice between an individual and a permanent distribution channel for his products, the decision will be made without hesitation. The only thing this may not work is in the case of family ties between the supplier and the purchasing department manager.
4. Increase bonus part wages Purchasing department manager. If the manager has a very strong financial motivation play fair, and there is a strong fear of losing your job for receiving a kickback - then I am more than sure that there will be fewer kickbacks. But this requires constant control over the activities of the supplier.
5. Constant monitoring of retail prices. If everything is fair, and prices for the retailer are higher due to certain criteria, then the task of the purchasing department manager is to identify these criteria and take measures to reduce the purchase price.

In any case, there is no point in going too far in the fight against supply rollbacks. Too much tightening of the screws can lead to a severance of relations with a good supplier or the loss of a very good supplier. Well, what can we do? We have such a mentality and we are ready to accept with pleasure and don’t forget to encourage - otherwise we won’t survive in Russia.)

I think I’ll end on this optimistic note. Write your thoughts on this issue in the comments or email, and also subscribe to blog updates.

Logistics and technical supply of an enterprise is a primary task that management has to solve to ensure that assigned tasks are completed in the most efficient manner.

Enterprise supply specifics

For small firms with a narrow range of products, this may be one supply specialist. For medium-sized organizations that produce a wider range of products, as a rule, a supply department is already organized. At large enterprises with a developed product range, it is not uncommon to create supply departments (directorates) with a developed structure.

In cases where individual product groups are large in volume and complex in assortment, a specialized material supply department is created by area.

For example, at all enterprises in the pipe industry, metal bureaus were part of the production divisions of the plants. This is justified by the fact that the range of blanks amounted to tens of thousands of items and the preparation of production schedules directly depended on the rhythm of its deliveries.

Purchasing department: functions

• Organization of the formation of a range of materials for production.
• Supply planning by year and by periods of the year (quarter, month).
• Market research of suppliers of necessary product groups by participating in exhibitions, fairs and other similar events. Selection of optimal supply options taking into account logistics.
• Concluding contracts for the supply of material resources and monitoring their implementation.
• Organization of acceptance of incoming goods and products in accordance with current documents (Delivery Regulations, Instructions P-6 and P-7).
• Optimal placement of purchased material assets in warehouses, taking into account internal logistics enterprises.
• Development of consumption standards for individual commodity items in production and monitoring their implementation.
• Development of proposals for replacing expensive materials with cheaper ones, taking into account their manufacturability.
• Organization of activities for the preparation and implementation of enterprise standards in terms of material support.

This work at the enterprise is headed by the head of the supply department. He reports directly to the Commercial Director.

Organization of materials supply

The supply department, the functions of which are discussed above, is usually built in three main areas:

1. Material groups. They organize and control the supply of goods of certain groups (working clothes and footwear, office supplies, bearings, lubricants and fuel, household goods, etc.), control their correct use in accordance with the requirements technological process. Warehousing operates in direct contact with them.
2. Quality control department at acceptance. Organizes incoming inspection of materials and products in accordance with the provisions mentioned above. The group must include the participation of a qualified lawyer heading claim work. The basis for carrying out its activities is the corresponding enterprise standard.
3. Bureau of Standards. This division develops and monitors the implementation of material consumption standards. It includes a specialist responsible for the timely movement of accounting and financial documents and reporting on them, as well as an economist or a corresponding group. It depends on the size of the enterprise and the volume of information flow.

Head of Procurement Department

An engineer with a higher economic education who has significant experience in a similar position is appointed to this position.

The head of the department represents the “managers” category. He carries out the duties of his position in accordance with the current regulatory and other documents on material and technical supply, the Charter of the organization and the relevant instructions and orders of senior management, job description.

Competence

The head of the supply department must know:

• regulatory and legislative documents relating to the organization’s supply;
• market methods of farming;
• promising directions for the development of the enterprise;
• methods for planning the consumption of material resources, the procedure for establishing standards and monitoring the implementation of expenditure indicators;
• organization of warehousing;
• the procedure for conducting contractual work with suppliers;
• the level of wholesale and retail prices for the materials used;
• basic legislation on labor, labor protection and fire safety.

Job responsibilities of the head of the supply department

1. Organization of enterprise support material resources in the required quality and quantity, as well as their rational use for maximum production efficiency.
2. Management of long-term and current planning in terms of supporting core activities, the needs of the repair and maintenance service and other needs of the enterprise based on the application of progressive standards for material consumption.
3. Finding ways to cover production needs using internal reserves.
4. Ensures the conclusion of contracts for the supply of necessary resources, seeks the opportunity to establish long-term cooperative ties.
5. Organizes timely delivery of materials to the organization’s warehouses and their acceptance in accordance with current standards.
6. Sets up and monitors claims work on deviations due to the quality and quantity of resources, compliance with their delivery schedules.
7. Provides regular monitoring of the status of inventories in the enterprise's warehouses, their timely replenishment in accordance with standards.
8. Initiates the development of activities for rational use resources, production waste and illiquid assets. Finding ways optimal delivery inventory for the enterprise.
9. Organizes the functioning of the warehouse, ensures compliance with the rules for the placement of storage items.

Conclusion

Supply departments of factories and other enterprises directly influence the success of their work. In the cost of production, materials occupy a decisive place, which imposes special responsibility on the supply department for the fate of the organization.

We looked through the eyes of a supplier at the main groups of mistakes made by suppliers. Most sellers are not inclined to be critical of their work and notice any “sin” behind them. Moreover, buyers most often leave quietly, without slamming the door or explaining anything. For those who do not want to lose Clients, consider the mistakes of suppliers on real examples. Specifically, in this article we will analyze situations that are determined more by the personal qualities of the sales manager than by the imperfections of his company:

• asymmetrical communication;
• incompetence;
• great conceit.

Asymmetrical communication

In my practice there were many such cases, one of which occurred with a large trading network– let’s call it “MaxiMin”. A senior sales manager from a local branch worked with us. He wanted multimillion-dollar turnovers and kept trying to persuade him to send him larger orders. But it just didn’t work out – sales weren’t going well for a number of objective reasons. I suggested to him that we should expand the range for us, make prices lower, and organize delivery to the site. I even wrote a letter to his management about our average monthly needs (an unprecedented step for a supplier)! But it was all in vain - this manager dumped us on his assistant, because... suddenly became “too busy.” This assistant turned out to be even more “busy” than her boss, and besides, she was very immodest, unethical, and had other repulsive “nots.” But the main thing in this example is that I eventually had to send a letter to the director of MaxiMin with a request to look into the incident, inform me officially about the measures taken and assign an adequate assistant to our manager. The result shocked me with its absurdity: the manager said with a smile that he had received my letter without any resolution from management. I wonder what could worry the supplier's management more than?!

Another story happened with the director of Smet-Kafel LLC (the name is also conditional). Even at the stage of revising the register of suppliers, I invited him to my office to meet him and discuss prospects for cooperation. Imagine my surprise when from the telephone receiver came notes of a grin, conceit and confidence that even without a meeting with the new head of the supply department, everything would be as before “in chocolate”! Ignoring the Client is the limit of indifference to one’s future.

EXAMPLE #2: “overhead jump.” The supplier goes directly to the customer’s senior management, bypassing the procurement department. From a universal human point of view, there seems to be nothing wrong with this. However, if we take into account the organization of procurement at a particular enterprise, such actions become very ugly and violate business ethics. Therefore, when developing a potential Client, the sales manager must carefully study the structure, functions of various divisions and the specifics of the procurement business process of the company of interest. Only after this, knowing exactly the full name of the person in charge, can you begin communication and start with this person. If contact with him does not produce results, you need to try to contact his colleagues with a similar status. The next step might be to talk to the head of the purchasing department. And only as a last resort, without receiving clear explanations for the refusal to cooperate, can you contact the Client’s senior management.

Here it is appropriate to cite another case that happened with the supplier “Smet-Kafel”, when the “leap over one’s head” took place after the conclusion of a long-term supply agreement. As mentioned above, the director of this company ruined the relationship with the head of the supply department at the first contact. It is likely that this would not have become a significant barrier in the cooperation of the companies if Smet-Kafel had been otherwise impeccable. However, a number of further incidents added fuel to the fire: the seller’s refusal to provide information about the origin of the goods, delays in delivery, unfair pricing, etc. As a result, the resulting lump of claims led to the need to search for an alternative supplier. An adequate action by the guilty party would be an attempt by its management to find out from the head of the supply department the reasons for the reduction in applications, sort everything out, correct mistakes and improve relations. Instead, the director of Smet-Kafel periodically called the customer’s senior management, bypassing the suppliers, with stories about how much he had in stock of all sorts of different things at the lowest prices. This brought nothing but empty provocations, and most importantly, the supplier acquired a worse reputation. If barriers arise in working with the Client, the seller must first of all analyze his mistakes and try to correct them, and not try to take orders “brazenly” or “in a roundabout way.”

Incompetence

Familiarity can also be mentioned here. In domestic trade it has epidemic proportions. For some reason, many people consider it normal to get on first-name terms with the Client on their own initiative. Even if the customer is young, this will be a very incorrect and repulsive step! The manager's swagger casts a shadow over his entire enterprise.

Another case of ignorance, which is very common, is manifested in untimely visits by supplier representatives to the Client. For example, in the RuElectro company, which once worked with us, the manager has changed. To resume cooperation with us, new manager I decided to visit the head of OMTS. During the day, he called the supply department several times and each time heard the answer: “The boss is in a meeting. We will pass on your information. Call back tomorrow." Either being very distrustful, or infinitely wanting to start selling, the manager, on the next call, said: “I’ll come today. It’s okay that the boss isn’t there, I’ll wait for him!” He kept his word - he came... And he made the head of OMTS, who had just returned from a meeting, wildly irritated! Even if a manager has good intentions, displaying them clumsily can backfire.

EXAMPLE #2: importunity. It borders on ignorance and is present in the above story about RuElectro. A manager can be polite, competent and arrange a meeting in advance, but still not achieve a positive result. The reason for this is often too persistent “knocking out” applications and excessive “tutelage”. In fact, there is an axiom: if the Client is favorable to the supplier, he will place an order without reminders.

EXAMPLE No. 3: negligence and inattention. Many suppliers with great potential and capabilities lose significant volumes of orders due to insufficient organization, inattention or overload of sales managers. At one stage or another of the sales process, the necessary control is lost and, as a result, the invoice is not issued on time, the receipt of money is not controlled, products are not shipped, and delivery is disrupted. This gives rise to a (seemingly) paradoxical situation: smaller, but more disciplined suppliers are taking orders from the “titans”.

EXAMPLE #4: lack of experience and knowledge about the product. Supply department employees manufacturing enterprises often formulate their applications using industry-specific terminology. However, their needs are often urgent and, therefore, require a quick response from the sales manager. And often the customer requires preliminary technical consultation with the supplier. In these conditions, in order for the transaction to take place, the seller needs appropriate knowledge and experience: he must be well versed in products, be able to work with technical catalogs, know the main characteristics of products, be able to select analogues and offer related products. Otherwise, a vague answer or incorrect recommendation will cause the buyer to distrust and refuse delivery. The Supplier must respond quickly, confidently and competently to the Client’s requests .

EXAMPLE No. 5: solving your problems at the expense of the Client. The manager of the RuElectro company distinguished himself not only by his importunity. Since ancient times, they have been in debt to us. For some strange reason they "couldn't" refund our money. Having met the supplier halfway, I allowed the debt to be repaid with goods. However, after some time, the manager announced the impossibility of shipment without concluding a Supply Agreement in a certain form. It turned out that, being indebted to the Client, the supplier began to put forward condition after condition to him! And this against the background of the desire to receive large applications?! You should not impose your rules and interests on the Client.

Big ego

• in attempts to “enlighten” the Client in those areas that are well known to him;
• in paying insufficient attention to the Client due to “lack of time” and “being very busy”;
• in a rough translation of the Client by the manager to his assistant;
• in exalting your rules and requirements over the requests and needs of the Client;
• to express bewilderment when the Client makes comments (especially when the complaints are justified).

CONCLUSIONS

1. Prepare thoroughly for contact with potential client. Clearly understand who makes purchasing decisions and contact this person. Meet with the Client only if he agrees to this - do not impose.

2. Promptly respond to the Client’s requests and requests, do not ignore them. Don't show him that you have more important things to do.

3. When talking with the Client, be polite and attentive. Record all his comments, do not interrupt or object. The best option the answer to complaints within one conversation will be: “We will definitely take your comments into account in subsequent work.”

4. Regularly clarify with the Client what he is not satisfied with, and not only when sales volumes decrease. Learn from every failure.

5. Be disciplined, maintain strict control and monitoring of each stage of sales. Be able to predict developments (including production and transport delays), and properly insure yourself. It is better to overestimate the expected delivery time than to delay the shipment.

6. It is good to know the entire range of supplied goods, be able to advise the Client on technical issues and offer him analogues of products.

8. Organize your activities so as not to create difficulties for the Client. Do not load it with unnecessary information and unnecessary “movements”.

Note from the website portal editor: experience shows that a lot of people with higher education cannot fulfill the above requirements THEMSELVES... One of the standard solutions is to deprive Employees of freedom of choice - they are obliged to fulfill.

In the next article, we will look at supplier mistakes made not by individual employees due to their personal qualities, but by companies as a whole - due to problems in the organization.