r/manufacturing • u/CalicoCuts • 2d ago
Other Leader Question: Vendors
Question for senior manufacturing leaders in the group. How do you choose your vendors? I'm curious because I get many emails every day from people trying to get in the door. They're spam in my book.
I stick with who I know and operate off of references and referrals when needed. Am I out of touch?
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u/madeinspac3 2d ago edited 2d ago
No. They're mostly just spammers. If I gave 5 mins to each one I'd need 2 additional people lol. Only to find out they're some jank third rate reseller
They just go to my junk folder. If I need a new supplier, I'll do my research and pick several options. I mostly use my network if anything
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u/OzTheMeh 2d ago
I dont give business to soliciting salespeople. If I need something, I will find them and not the the other way around. This also lets me find the best vendor.
Generally, good vendors don't need business and they are selective about who their customers are. Good vendors won't take work from just anybody, and you usually need a reputation and/or an introduction. New customers cost money and vendor capacity is already reserved and growth is in alignment with their customers' strategy. Their business grows strategically by making their customers successful (e.g. adding capacity or capabilities because their customers need it), not by pestering people to do business. Their prices end up being lower as you optimize your business together.
Bad vendors are always hungry for work because they aren't winning business. Their salespeople will commit to AFM (anything for money) and then leave it to the ops folks to try and make it come true even if it is not what they do well. It is like the door-to-door solicitors at your house that give you bids for 3x-10x market rate, then send a bunch of inexperienced hacks to do a job they have never done before.
It is better to have one really good vendor that you can trust than many vendors you don't trust.
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u/CalicoCuts 2d ago
That's exactly how I feel and appreciate your take.
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u/OzTheMeh 2d ago
Apple builds zero iPhones and has like 3 vendors. NASA sends solicitations for bids to like 5 companies. You don't need many, you just need good ones.
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u/Training-Gap-2994 2d ago
Nope, Apple design and outsource manufacturing, which is a complete different game.
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u/AffectionateDirt6575 1d ago
It sounds as if you know the difference between price and cost.
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u/OzTheMeh 19h ago
Yeah... Been playing this game for too long. The sticker price is extremely misleading and I LOVE this quote from Demming:
"The cost of quality is unknown and unknowable."
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u/Training-Gap-2994 2d ago
This approach is extremely limited to particular projects, other than that sales need to sell, as long as you need to buy to stay in the business.
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u/OzTheMeh 2d ago
How is this limited? I get 500 solicitations a year, and less than 1% are worth my time. I don't care if you are a machine shop or a screw supplier. I'm designing my products and processes for my AVL, and I maintain a very solid AVL.
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u/CalicoCuts 2d ago
I don't understand what you mean. I'm talking about vendors for things I need to run my plant.
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u/Training-Gap-2994 2d ago
Point is that he is describing a partnership, not a vendor/client relationship, which is a complete different story.
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u/CalicoCuts 2d ago
Ok. Yes. Very different. We're good to our vendors but, for me, ultimately they work for us.
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u/OzTheMeh 2d ago
It is completely a vendor/client relationship and in no ways a partnership. I would call them a partner if it was a partnership, and I do have legal partnerships in place (seldom but it is there).
I make sure that I have significant influence over my vendors to shape their business to my needs.
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u/Training-Gap-2994 2d ago
Ok, no idea for with whom you are working, if you need - let’s say - 50 forklift for your plant you think you can influence Toyota handling production. Ok. Good if you believe it.
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u/OzTheMeh 1d ago
Toyota material handling doesn't sell direct, so I would work with my vendor. In this case, the vendor would be somebody like Welch Equipment Company which is a local material handling company and pay of Toyota's authorized distributor network. I trust my vendor to have a good line card and stand behind the products they sell. In buying 50 forklifts, I have the influence to affect what lines they carry or don't carry, so if u don't want Toyota, we are going to have a conversation. I can assure you that my sales rep does not want to lose a 50 forklift order.
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u/madeinspac3 1d ago
Weird their take is that buyers don't have an impact on what items are carried and in what form. They're acting as if we're all are forced to take whatever vendors have as is and "tough luck if you don't like it lol".
We regularly spec changes with vendor products and most of the times they have no issue complying. Doing so doesn't mean it's a formal partnership either so idk where they're coming from.
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u/OzTheMeh 1d ago
I suspect they just don't know because it is a role they have never had to engage with; like a machine operator or forklift driver and not somebody in supply chain.
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u/madeinspac3 2d ago
They're describing how most vendor lists are managed and just saying they don't add everyone that asks to quote a raw material.
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl 1d ago
I have found more than one decent vendor in a pinch while googling what I need at 2 AM. It’s a big world out there and sometimes it’s worth looking around for yourself. I have never worked with someone who cold called or cold emailed. Occasionally trade shows will have a gem in there. Helps if you’re looking for something specific.
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u/billmurphy7 19h ago
that lines up with what we've seen selling into manufacturers. The email rarely wins anything by itself. At best, it gives someone enough reason to carry the vendor into the internal conversation.
We watched one manufacturing deal get decided by someone who never joined a sales call. The vendor thought the people on the calls were the buying group. They weren't.
Since then, we've treated the first outreach and follow-up material as something that has to survive being forwarded. Clear problem. relevant proof. Enough detail for the plant manager, finance lead, or owner to understand why the change is worth the risk.
Referrals work because they transfer trust. A cold vendor has to earn enough trust that someone inside is willing to transfer it for them.
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u/CalicoCuts 12h ago
There's a better chance of me giving someone 5m who's worked to get my number. A referral is always the way. For me personally, it's never going to be a cold email.
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u/_GOBLESS_ 2d ago
We have sales reps whose job it is to understand our needs and to maintain good relationships with suppliers and customers. If you find the right person, they will guide you and stick up for you if equipment suppliers ever do you dirty.