Think You’re Getting All You Can From Your Suppliers? Think Again

RCS Influencer Thea Dudley says building a relationship with your suppliers credit department is a win/win. 

If no man is an island and it takes a village to raise a child, couldn’t we turn that around to: No roofing company is an island, and it takes a network to support it. Ok, my grammar infractions and stretch to connect aside, the message remains: If you are not using all the resources available to you, you are not doing the best you can for your company. More blatantly put: If you are not looking to your suppliers for more than just material, you are not using your “village” to its fullest capacity. 

Confused? Intrigued? Let me explain. Most suppliers have robust departments to support them filled with professionals in their field. Take the credit department. If you are not leveraging your suppliers credit department to help your company grow, that is a huge miss. Not only do most have qualified credit professionals that know mechanics lien information, collection techniques and have forms they can share with you, they also have credit people who can answer questions for you as you grow your credit processes and team.   

You can start by talking to your supplier’s sales rep about who they would recommend you speak to in that department. If you interact with someone on the credit team (now calm down, not every call you get from a credit person is negative) and you like their style and their approach, ask them for some help. Bounce a couple things off them and see what they come up with.   

Keep in mind that just like sales reps, not all credit people are alike. Take some time to look at what you know about the supplier, ask questions of your sales rep about their credit team, talk to them about what you are trying to solve or accomplish and who on that team they would recommend. If you don’t know the person, ask them to make the introduction.   

A solid credit person is always willing to help a customer with their processes and it helps them as well. If I can help a customer improve their collections, understand lien waivers, joint checks, other options or help them with their challenges in the credit arena, it builds a relationship and may lead to quicker payments. If there is an issue that arises, the chance the customer will feel more comfortable calling and working through the problem before it gets past the critical stage, then it is a win/win. 

Stop viewing your suppliers as one dimensional. When in doubt ask for help! 

Thea Dudley is an expert credit and collections officer, having spent 30 years in the construction field working for contractors and distributors. See her full bio here.