Every fruitful co-operation between business partners is based on good communication. It is no different in terms of relations of merchants with suppliers. If we approach this issue properly, suppliers will become an integral part of our system. On the other hand, a neglected communication process has a negative impact on business results, making it difficult or even impossible to meet the expectations of internal and final customers.

DIAGRAM OF THE CUSTOMER-COMPANY-SUPPLIER RELATIONS

Communication with suppliers becomes more and more complicated year after year. Company customers’ growing emphasis on increasing flexibility in the approach to co-operation, pressure involving prices and margins and globalization of supply chains have contributed to the emergence of more and more difficult challenges in the business environment. To meet them, many companies opted for broadening the scope of co-operation with the suppliers, monitoring them, and first and foremost – quicker and more efficient communication with them.

E-shopping systems can be a perfect tool for the implementation of the above goals. We can use them to directly communicate with a single business partner, as well as many potential bidders found in our supplier base. Procurement platforms also allow to gather information and validate the entire procurement process. The greater the possibilities of interaction between merchants and suppliers, the easier it is to accurately determine your requirements and provide an answer to bidders’ questions.

Placing bids is often too laborious and in the end it becomes an unbreachable barrier for many companies from the MSE sector. The use of e-shopping software is especially worthwhile for small and medium enterprises, since it simplifies and standardizes the process of bid submission, which allows them for much greater involvement in the platform compared to traditional requests. The procurement portal enables the suppliers an easy registration, quick access to newly published requests for quotation, a uniform and simple bid submission process, and it facilitates checking the history of your activity. This is not without significance to the buyer as well, who is able to verify the operation of all the co-operating suppliers.

In communication with multiple suppliers it is important for the information to be delivered in an arranged manner. Using the procurement platform automatizes the process of submission of requests for quotation. This means that all suppliers receive information in the same time and form.

Thanks to the use of e-shopping software it is much easier to identify the best suppliers and work out a relationship far beyond the usual negotiations with them, which will facilitate the process of establishing a price that is the most favorable for both parties. Decreasing the amount of paper documentation and arrangement of the information noise will allow the buyer to focus on building relations with key suppliers, as well as reinforcing them with those business partners with which they co-operate the most often.

Efficient co-operation with the supplier is a result of regular, efficient communication. Thanks to the use of electronic communication channels we can facilitate many processes, avoid misunderstandings and refine complications that result from the significant complication of the modern supply chain.