Ezee Prints Sheds Light on How Supplier Partnership Matters in Today’s MSME Business
These days, it’s essential for small businesses to partner with other industries to get the job done. Most product providers need the help of reliable suppliers that cater to their needs and address the common micro, small, and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) pain points otherwise huge business losses can be inevitable. As these small companies try to expand their market reach, more supply networks are needed and the risks also increase. That’s why stronger partnerships are important in today’s business landscape.
The Client-Supplier connection
The local manufacturing sector comprises over 50% of the entire industrial sector and contributes to nearly a quarter of the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) which makes the demand for suppliers high. Forging a partnership with the right suppliers should be able to achieve a win-win situation between companies for the long term. That said, consistency in providing products and services is vital in business as it lessens the risk of losing customers, sacrificing quality, or falling short of developing a functioning supply chain.
For some companies, the reality is pretty traumatizing in how clients of manufacturing firms can sometimes fail to listen to realistic deliveries and timelines when it comes to supply and instead resort to getting more out of the bargain such as price concessions and priority status. Client-supplier partnerships should always be rooted in trust and respect with a give and take approach. Of course, the same should be anchored on mutually agreed ‘supplier evaluation and performance excellence standards’ to set realistic and manageable service level agreements.
Small businesses should not view their suppliers as companies to be managed but rather as colleagues that can share their goals while nurturing their own. There should be a long term commitment to work together for the benefit of both companies which entails the sharing of relevant information, a shared responsibility on potential risks, and sometimes even a rewards system that’s reciprocal. One good example of an ideal customer-supplier partnership is that of multinational goods and consumer corporation Procter & Gamble which treats its business partners as an extension of the company. What that means is continuing the development for more sustainable and innovative campaigns to come up with a stronger joint value which has worked wonders for the company for decades.
Mitigating measures that open up client-supplier opportunities
In the country, MSMEs don’t have the capacity to mount customer-supplier campaigns as how giant firms like Procter & Gamble can. And the current pandemic all the more delivered huge blows in the country’s small business sector.
To curb the damaging effects of a global health crisis, the International Labor Organization (ILO) is working to engage more experts who can help create recovery strategies for MSMEs in the country. These campaigns are meant to strengthen partnerships between supplier firms, remain resilient in crisis, and sustainable in the better normal. Supplier partnerships continue to be part and parcel of these opportunities that can achieve sustainability for both parties.
Today, more small businesses are resorting to partnerships with suppliers and vendors in the fintech and manufacturing industries to stay afloat. Last year in February, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in partnership with Google opened the floodgates of digitalization for MSMEs in the country for growth. With the essential digital tools to grow businesses in place, smaller companies also have the leverage to collaborate with suppliers that are equally capable of digital technologies within the supply chain.
The Ezee factor
To drive the point home, there’s no sense for a company that’s currently shifting to digital practices to go to a traditional supplier who won’t be able to keep abreast of faster turnarounds due to the latter’s lack of technology. While this shuffles multiple industries a bit in how some supply companies are left behind by their clients in terms of digitalization, there’s a need for both customer and supplier to upgrade their processes and operations so they can not only enjoy what current opportunities in business can offer but also strengthen partnerships as both move forward.
The bottom line here is that both companies and suppliers should learn to adjust to changes especially as we’re soon approaching a better business normal thanks to digital technology. Signing the dotted line for orders and projects and sealing them with a handshake should not be the end of any business deal. Any company can get more mileage by simply getting to know its partner’s true potentials so they can further talk about strategy, cost-efficiency, and consistency.
Preferably, these partnerships should also stem from higher levels within both companies from CEO to CEO collaboration down to the rank and file. After all, a client-supplier partnership means being committed to both parties’ goals through clear expectations, open communication, and reliable exchange of information at every degree possible. As long as these factors are maintained, mutual trust will be nurtured as both companies grow further.
In the country’s printing and packaging industry, only a few suppliers can accommodate minimum orders and customized materials for retail MSMEs. Quezon City-based Ezee Prints is one such MSME partner that places paramount importance on the needs of smaller businesses that just can’t place orders by the bulk.
This kind of partnership is ideal for such demographics as startups, freelancers, solopreneurs, and boutique agencies that periodically need varying numbers of orders while looking to establish long-term partnerships with one supplier. Ezee Prints aims for the same along with shared goals that are rooted in collaboration and have a more leveled working dynamic in terms of production, turnarounds, and delivery which all boils down to strengthening the client-supplier connection.
Know more about Ezee Prints products and how they can help your business in the long term.