Picture source: http://www.cuptask.com/blog/find-supplier-ecommerce-startup/

Blog in reference to: http://www.businessblogshub.com/2015/11/what-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-searching-for-a-supplier/

In todays world running a business is no more a one man job but a job of many steps put in together to form one smooth chain. For a normal human being, a supplier might seem to be a very easy person to deal with but for a business to look for the right person is a very hard job.

Many people would consider to keep switching between suppliers. They might choose the one which provides the cheapest material once and then change the supplier when someone offers something else. Having a constant supplier creates a sense of trust between both the business man and the supplier. The company/ businessman will be able to count on the supplier for timely deliveries so that the manufacturing process doesn’t get delayed due to inefficiency of raw material delivery.

Another thing that people factor out is the cost. I believe just like Neil Buckland that the cost of the supplier should be the least of the worries while choosing a supplier. One should consider the suppliers reliability, communication, and, most importantly, their quality rate. If the suppliers quality of goods is nice, then the word of mouth would also be positive and nowadays with the growing use of internet and social media, news like these spread very fast.

The third and last question to ask yourself would be, the location of the supplier. Having a supplier in the same time zone would have a lot of benefits like communication and if need be, having a face to face meeting. An international supplier might seem to be the cheaper option at first but with all the shipping cost and the delivery time taken into account will be a very expensive way.

All in all,in my opinion having a supplier which can fulfil the above points would be the ideal supplier and business man would be looking for.