Generally speaking, suppliers are reluctant to accept orders with small purchase volumes, especially strong suppliers who are not even willing to pay attention to such orders. For smaller online stores, although the purchase volume is small, it actually affects the supply chain and subsequent work. So, how should we solve the problem of small purchase volume?
First of all, we need to analyze the purchase volume itself. Why is the purchase volume very small? A common reason is the emergency purchase situation. For example, because of a temporary change in the promotion plan, a batch of products needs to be purchased urgently. If the online store faces this situation, it might as well agree to the supplier’s request first, after all, operation is more important.
The second is that the small scale does not require a large purchase volume. Of course, if the purchase volume is relatively small, many suppliers are unwilling to sign a purchase contract, which requires the boss’s negotiation ability. One way is to tell the supplier that the online store is in the development stage, and the purchase volume will increase significantly in the future, and will be fixed within a certain purchase range, and will not be as small and unstable as it is now. Another way is to tell the supplier that your purchase volume will not be large, but there will always be purchase orders, which is a long-term purchase. In this case, even strong suppliers will choose to cooperate with small-scale online stores because of long-term orders. Finally, find suppliers based on purchase volume. If the purchase volume of the online store only accounts for 1% or even less of the total supply of the supplier, it is indeed difficult for the supplier to put itself in a strategic position. When the purchase volume of the online store does not meet the supplier’s mass production requirements, it is difficult for the supplier to deliver on time. Once the supplier is unable to deliver on time and the online store happens to have only one supplier, the supply chain of the online store will be seriously affected or even broken. Therefore, the most appropriate method is to find suppliers based on purchase volume. If an online store with a small purchase volume cooperates with a large supplier, it will definitely be in a passive situation. Therefore, when investigating suppliers, in addition to paying attention to whether the production process meets the requirements of the product, the online store must also evaluate whether the supplier’s production capacity meets the conditions for small-volume purchases. From the perspective of both the online store and the supplier, small-volume purchases do put higher demands on the relationship between the two parties. Even if it is in a relatively passive position, the online store still needs to face the supplier correctly and make moderate concessions, but the cooperation should still be based on fairness to ensure timely delivery. Both parties should explain possible problems in advance at the negotiation table and develop emergency warning plans.
In addition, online stores should try to maintain a relatively stable supply chain based on their own specific circumstances. Although suppliers can be found for small-volume purchases, small-scale online stores are indeed at a disadvantage when facing some strong suppliers.
Tips
If the online store is small, it needs to strengthen the management of its own supply chain, make relatively accurate predictions of the purchase volume as much as possible, and set solutions in advance, rather than thinking of negotiating and cooperating with suppliers when an emergency occurs and small-volume purchases are required.