Africa Business Communities

Odimbite Odimbite: It comes down to Good Communication and Partnership

When you experience a good business partnership that truly cares for you, you will walk away feeling good. This is almost a practice that should be the norm. Everyone wants to know and be assured that someone else is watching their backs; someone else is genuinely looking after their interests in a business transaction.

Supplier Partnership

Suppliers rest easy when they know business relations with recipient organizations are mutually beneficial. They see it from timely and accurate feedback on supply changes in the business. When a company's sales projections decline, this will affect suppliers. A business may take a decision to cut back on supply. This information needs be given to suppliers immediately and any concerns resolved in a win-win manner. Where this information isn’t communicated and a supplier sources for the items and is only informed at a point he has committed funds, taken delivery or at the point of dispatch to the client, the supplier would feel unhappy. He may express anger due to the huge losses he will incur. Ultimately, he may conclude the client organization is not looking after his interests.

Supplier development, qualification and relation are a very good way to show a supplier the client cares. The client who is willing to understand the supply process, when and when not to call off an order and integrating the supplier entire delivery process into an organization's ordering process, assures a supplier that his interest is important and he will feel good.

Organizations feel good when suppliers treat them well. Just imagine an organization that has an order to fulfill and the supplier is expected to make urgent deliveries within twenty four hours but it didn't happen! The supplier may have supply, availability, logistics or quality constraints but hid it from the organization. The supplier fails to meet the 24hour deadline and after 24hours, after repeated follow up, did the organization realize the supplier had a big challenge? That organization will be unhappy because of the losses she has incurred. The organization could have responded in a different way, if the supplier has promptly communicated that challenge to the client.

Customer Partnership

I have seen some customers reject a new product from the retailer. An organization made a new product with packaging similar to an existing one in same category. The company salesman redistributed them to the wholesaler and retailer without informing them, the supply us a new product. Customers purchased them and after a few days returned to complain to the wholesaler and retailers and were told that was how they saw it. The customers were unhappy and refused to make repeat purchases. The customers felt the company dumped an inferior product on them and so shifted loyalty to a competitor. The company may not intend it this way but the customer wants to feel good in experiencing a company's products and services. Customers can perceive a company as arrogant or friendly. Customers generally want to do more business with a more friendly company than a company perceived as arrogant. It is disadvantageous to any company for her customers to see her as arrogant. Even where such a company provides superior products or services, customers will one day migrate when they have had enough of the arrogance.

Business partnership that makes everyone feel good is required for suppliers, stakeholders, customers and organizational transactions. Communication across all channels and genuine interest in everyone is useful in forging partnerships that everyone can enjoy. This means everyone in the value chain truly cares and watches the back of each other in a responsible and proactive way. Ultimately everyone feels good and enjoys the business partnership and keeps it growing.

 

Odimbite Odimbite is Co-Founder, Metrodelight Foods Limited, Nigeria.

 

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