Finding reliable peeled garlic suppliers for your business will be difficult, especially if you're a newbie purchaser or the one that has only sourced locally before. Fortunately, it's not difficult to find potential suppliers to work with, you can find the perfect supplier or suppliers by working through the 5 steps in this guide.
This article covers all the different criteria you need to consider when finding suppliers and how to narrow down your shortlist without contacting every supplier that looks like they all may be suitable. In just 5 steps, you’ll find suppliers to support your business as it grows. We also cover FAQs about the process of finding a supplier, so no question will go unanswered.
Step 1: Set Your Criteria and Define What You Can (and Can’t Compromise On)
Before you start searching for potential peeled garlic suppliers, first pause and create a list of the criteria you’ll compare and define which are most important to you. This list will help you know what areas you’re willing to compromise – if necessary – so you can narrow down your list of suppliers later.
Things to consider on your list of necessary criteria are:
- Price – are you flexible on price for better quality or faster service, or is keeping costs down the most important aspect?
- Lead times – how long are you willing to wait between when you order and when your order arrives? Do you ever need garlic at short time or will you order weeks or even months ahead of time?
- Minimum order quantity – do you want to order a small quantity? If so, that may rule out a number of suppliers, as they only offer larger minimum quantities.
- Maximum order quantity – similarly, do you need suppliers where the sky is the limit on your order or are you happy to use numerous peeled garlic suppliers in future if your needs grow?
- Quality of the product – everyone wants a good quality product, but if you want organic or a similar high-quality, you will expect to pay more.
- Storage and handling – do you have any requirements of how they store and handle your product prior to it being shipped to you? How long do you want it to be in transit?
- QA methods and process – do you have any specific desires or requirements for how the peeled garlic is quality assessed?
- Payment terms and conditions – this will be a big one for most businesses, so think about how you would prefer to pay for your orders. Most of the time, you’ll pay upfront before your order reaches you, but some suppliers may offer you 30, 60, or 90 days to pay. Also think about any terms and conditions you may not be happy with.
- Returns – what safeguards do you want in place if the product you receive is not up to standard? Obviously when it comes to food products, this isn’t always as easy as simply sending it back, so think about what you want to hear from potential suppliers.
Now that you’ve got this all out on paper (physically or digitally), go through and pick 1-3 criteria that are most important to you. These are the criteria you’ll champion in the next steps. Remember that, just like in business, you can’t expect everything – your ideal supplier won’t be the cheapest, with the best quality and the fastest delivery, so choose which is paramount for your business.
Step 2: Research Potential Suppliers and Make a Shortlist
Your next step is to research potential peeled garlic suppliers and make a shortlist of those you’re interested in. Remember, this is much more than simply comparing price, though you will be tempted to do so at first. Go back to the list you made above and look at the few criteria you starred – these are the criteria you should focus on at this stage.
Head online to sites like ours (https:www.made-in-china.com) and start making a list of potential suppliers. The best way to go about this is strategical, so don’t necessarily write down every single supplier that appears to meet your main criteria. Instead, think about your business as you do so and what you’re prepared to change in the future.
For example, if you’re a startup, you may be prepared to work with a small supplier now and upgrade to a bigger supplier as you grow. You may also find that, when you reach out to that supplier, they too have desires to grow and so you could see a future in which you do so with them.
Of course, if you’re established and you need a few reliable suppliers and don’t want to have to search for a new one in future, then avoid any suppliers where you are already at the upper limits of their maximum order quantity.
It’s a good idea to use more than one supplier in the long run, so you can ensure you always have the supply you need, so have this in mind, too.
Step 3: Reach Out to Your Shortlist
When you’ve got a list of suppliers you’d like to talk, it’s time to reach out to them. Use the criteria you wrote down in step 1 to form a list of questions to ask potential peeled garlic suppliers.
The best way to do this is through contact forms or email so you can have record of what you asked each one, so they can see the details of what you’re looking for and to avoid language or time barriers.
In your email, ask them the relevant questions you’ve formed from your criteria (just try to avoid any question they’ve answered clearly on their listing or website), tell them about your needs and ask them for quotation (even if it’s just an estimate) if they can fulfill your needs.
Give all your suppliers a week to get back to you with a quotation, then it’s time to place a trial order with those who have replied to you and who you are still interested in working with.
Red flags to look for are:
- Take more than a week to get back to you or never reply
- Ignore most of your questions
- Quotations are oddly high or low
- Appear to be a middle man when they appeared to be the supplier on listing
- If there is any talk online being unreliable, since reliability will often trump all other factors
- They are brand new or don’t seem to have many clients – this isn’t necessarily a red flag on its own, but look for a business that seems to be doing well or has good business practices in place so they can support you properly
Step 4: Place a Trial Order
Now that you’ve got a list of peeled garlic suppliers you would be interested in working with, it’s time to place a trial order. Some suppliers may allow you to order a smaller quantity to do this, but you can order the size you want if you have the budget. Therefor, you’ll be able to get the full experience of what it will be like to work with them.
Obviously, you don’t want (and likely aren’t able to) to do this for all shortlisted suppliers at once, so start with the one or two you feel best about. If your shortlist is small, that’s not a bad thing! It means you’ve been specific in your needs and aren’t willing to compromise, so simply reach out to your shortlist and see the quality of their product and service.
Once you’ve received an order, ask yourself:
- Was the quality of the product what I expected?
- Do I feel happy with the level of communication I received?
- Was there anything that went wrong that wouldn’t go normally?
- If this was their normal level of service, would I be happy working with them?
- If the service wasn’t quite as good as this next time, would I no longer want to work with them? (Consider that they may have done their best for you, which may not be typical.)
- Were there any unexpected fees? Do I trust them to be upfront with their pricing?
- Do I feel they are capable of supporting us as we grow?
- Were other customers positive about their experience with them?
- Do I feel there are any potential risks in working with them?
- Does my intuition tell you to go ahead and work with them?
If everything looks good, move on to step 5. If not, repeat this step until you find one you are happy with.
Step 5: Choose Your Supplier(s) and Start Working with Them
Now that you’ve found peeled garlic suppliers you’re happy to work with, you can start working with them regularly!
Make sure you work out any contracts, terms and conditions now, so you can expect the same service you received for your trial order moving forward.
It’s also a good idea at this stage to learn one or two members of staff by name, so you can deal with the same person or people for every order and build rapport.
Finding Peeled Garlic Suppliers FAQ
Should I choose more than one supplier?
It’s often a good idea. If you’re a small business owner and it takes you a while to work through your supply, then you may be able to get away with one, but it’s best to have two suppliers so you’re never stuck if there’s a problem with one of your orders. This goes double if you’re a big operation – if you can’t afford to be without peeled garlic, work with 2 or 3 suppliers.
How many suppliers are too many?
Juggling more than 3 will probably be more trouble than it’s worth, so it may be worth finding a new supplier if one of yours can’t fulfill your needs.
Should I do an on-site visit?
This really depends on the size of your operation and the amount of money you plan to spend and have in your budget. If you are a big operation and your peeled garlic suppliers are pivotal to the success of your business, then you may want to go and tour their facilities to see if you want to work with them.
However, if you have limited budget, it’s not necessary at this stage. If this is something you require before you start working with a supplier regularly, make sure you ask whether it will be possible to visit when you reach out to them initially.
Should I always ask for references?
You don’t have to do, but it’s recommended. If they are a new supplier, you can take a chance on them if they are offering you a reason to do so.
Finding the right peeled garlic suppliers for your business is not so hard, but you need to work methodically to ensure you find the right one.
