The main goal of any quality supplier is to deliver products in a manner that is efficient and gives customers the assurance that they will receive the right product, a fair price and timely service.

Regardless of the industry or the associated product categories, supply chain relations thrive when good communication is coupled with understanding and adjusting to your supply chain partners’ needs.

Water treatment dealers need to know that their suppliers, in addition to offering leading technology, are knowledgeable, can bring a lot of information and education to the marketplace and be true problem-solvers.

In addition, these suppliers should maintain a wide range of knowledge and employee expertise because of the industry’s various service demands.

“The water treatment market is a unique market because of the wide variety of potential applications that products can be used for,” states Matt Fortner, who is the product sales manager for water and beverage connectors at Parker Hannifin Corp.

However, there are some workplace efficiencies that dealers can improve upon in order to build a strong foundation for a good working relationship.

Communication is key
A good distributor should be willing to provide assistance in the area of post-sale technical help.

And, quality long-standing manufacturers will uphold warranty promises on faulty products or equipment.

However, you should expect these partners to go out of their way to help with information regarding repairs, replacement or service of older equipment.

Today, customers are holding on to older equipment in an effort to control costs.

Therefore, technical service help is important to ongoing supply chain success in today’s current business environment.

With an open line of communication to suppliers, these areas are non-issues.

“If it is easy to communicate with your suppliers, then it is easier to do business each day,” notes Fortner.

And, dealers should be open and welcome all types of communication sources beyond a phone call or a visit.

We are in the age of information and, even though the human touch is minimized, the Internet is leading the way as a means to provide information and effective communication.

Traditional, methodical dealers should embrace the 24/7 availability of informational resources that the Internet can provide.

“Today, the Internet plays a big role in providing information to the market,” confirms Dave Muhle, president and owner of Wood Bros. Industries. “With the Internet, [dealers and their customers] can have access to technical information and can get answers at any time.”

Got product?
It sounds simple, but for a variety of reasons, providing the right product and amount 100 percent of the time eludes some suppliers.

Since the industry relies on foreign parts and products, from countries such as China, in the path for a product to get from point A to B, then C, delays can occur.

Be a smart shopper by forecasting what you need to run your operation successfully for the next six to 12 months and buy ahead.

Although money is tight right now, the costs associated with losing customers because you didn’t have the part or product they needed can be detrimental.

“Accuracy and pricing, especially nowadays, is so important,” adds Muhle. “But, turnaround time is a big thing in [solidifying] relationships. If your supplier doesn’t have the filters you need and they have to mail your entire order in more than one box, for example, that is not very efficient.”

This not only frustrates customers, but can be expensive especially as mailing costs continue to increase.

Experts urge dealers to be smart shoppers.

For example, know the weight of the items that you are shopping for and figure out shipping costs prior to placing the order.

It is also a good idea to merge orders and bulk purchase in order to get the most out of shipping costs.

Be mindful of your suppliers’ inventory delivery schedules. Just because they don’t have your product on Monday, it doesn’t mean they won’t have it on Tuesday.

Price is also a main concern when shopping for products and your suppliers should be mindful of this.

Most suppliers offer incentives to buy in bulk or special offers with systems teamed up with commodity items.

Ask for “get one free” or special combo pricing deals when placing orders.

These types of savings can offset additional costs, such as product price increases or fuel surcharges.

The role of regional players
Although the water treatment industry is unified on many fronts, regional regulations and issues tend to sectionalize this industry.

“Water treatment is a very regional type of industry because water conditions vary so widely from state to state,” explains Fortner. “Therefore, having [a supplier] that is local, who understands water conditions in that specific area, is very helpful.”

Similar to other marketplaces, as this industry becomes larger and mature, a movement toward more regional suppliers with local expertise could surface.

“I think there are some big changes in the industry that we’re getting close to,” says Fortner. “We’re going to eventually hit a critical mass where the industry is large enough that we might see a fracturing of distributorships — from several large ones to smaller and medium-sized regional distributors.”

Currently, regional suppliers struggle to be cost-competitive compared to a supplier that has national reach.

However, the future could be bright for this type of supplier, who can leverage value-added expertise, on-demand training and reliable, cost-competitive products.

Dealers’ role in successful relations
Realistically, supply chain partners cannot solve all of your business woes.

Besides quality service and competitive pricing, there are some ways for your company to control costs and deliver even more savings to your customers.

Examine your delivery routes, for example.

How do your service vehicles travel? How many stops do they make? Are there any areas of improvement in the current route management strategy?

Not investing in helpful technology, such as GPS devices, is a missed opportunity to decreasing fuel costs and assisting in retaining customers through on-time visits.

These tools can provide the necessary information drivers need for simplifying and maximizing delivery routes.

Know your workers’ strengths and weaknesses. We all have areas of work in which we excel and others that can use some improvement.

If your customer is experiencing a unique problem, troubleshoot the issue with the correct worker’s area of expertise.

Not doing so can result in repeat visits, customer frustration and an overall bad image of your company.

Keeping a customer means over exceeding their expectations.

Take care of your current customers or someone else will.

Exceeding expectations through quality customer care, proven communication techniques, fairness and respect is important to making sure that customers will request your service in the future.

Consequently, your supply chain partners should have similar views on business.

Hold suppliers accountable and do not settle for mediocre service.