Supplier Strategy
We provide a wide range of professional services to meet your sourcing and importation needs. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your specific questions.
Supplier Strategy
When you first branch out into the world of 3rd party production for your products and importation, the whole project can be a minefield especially if you are distributing to several different countries with different laws and regulations.
How do you decide which route to take??
Where do you go to find factories to manufacture for you?
How can you judge whether their quality is consistent and meets your company /brand ethos?
Through years of working in this field, I can Recommend the most efficient ways to move forward, who to speak to, what you need to do, and how you can do this all yourself and not make costly and time consuming mistakes.
You will be familiar with negotiating with companies in the UK, but how would you negotiate with companies in the Far East and Eastern Europe? How would you know if you are getting the best deal and a competitive price?
Communicating with some companies thousands of miles away can be difficult if you don’t know their motivations, culture and customs. The last thing you want to do is ruin a relationship before it has even begun! We need to get you into a win-win position, building lasting relationships that will Develop over time for both parties. I can guide you .
Your
supply chain strategy
and management are like a roadmap that will help you get your products with as little setbacks as possible. Each phase of the plan needs to be planned from finances to sourcing materials through to manufacturing, delivery and logistics of getting it from the point of manufacture back into the UK. All fairly simple when dealing with companies in the UK. But how would you go about doing this with international companies?
Do you know what paperwork and licences you will need?
What would you do if you came up against a problem?
Who would you ask?
How would you get reimbursed if things went wrong?
What
products you design really depends on identifying a gap in the market, and understanding the direction your company wants to take. Designing your own product is more expensive and time consuming than taking a product off the shelf and customising it. However designing your own product gives you something unique and will allow for better margins. Which route will you take?
Throughout all of my roles I have been involved extensively in
range planning , having the right product,in the right place and at the right price are crucial to any company's success. You need to identify the most profitable products that your customers desire and want.
There is a lot of analysis required around performance, your target market, what is selling? What emerging technologies are there? What will be the next must-have product? Getting the right mix of these products and being able manage them into your current product portfolio is crucial. The less mistakes you make, the more profitable you will be, with less working capital taken up in stock.
Whatever your level of sourcing expertise, you are welcome to ask us any questions you may have. We can offer a full service on any of the above or can mentor or train you or your staff on specifics and take you down the right road for success.
Don’t hesitate to contact me to arrange a free initial consultation by emailing or calling
RDY -
Recommend | Develop | Yield
Mark has the ability to get together a great portfolio of products that would sell. He has also accompanied me on our Asian buying trips and always built great rapport with our manufacturers. Mark was instrumental in getting two patented products to market for our company and not only came up with the designs but also sourced the manufacturer in China to make it. His product knowledge was invaluable in this area.
JP
Programme Director
Manufacturing
Critical date paths form the basis of your plan. There’s a logical progression that takes place to ensure that things arrive in the right order at the right time. Just like any good project management initiative, you need to know when things are arriving, how long lead times are and how to pull it all together.
Have you given any thought to
packaging design and the science behind it? Considerations are given to the structure of the packaging as it needs to be fit for purpose through to the colours, images and regulatory information that keeps you compliant and legal.
Packaging and print should be part of your
marketing strategy. There needs to be cohesion and a method between them both. With years of experience in this field, let me give you the pointers you need to make your products stand out from the crowd and get noticed.
And when you’ve made your products, how do you get them back to the UK? Do you know what shipping lines to use? What booking agents to use? Who are the best freight forwarders? What customs paperwork/documentation needs to be filled in? How much does it all cost? What are the timeframes? Might it be better using airfreight vs Sea freight, do we take a direct or indirect boat? All these questions have an impact on your cash flow.
These questions are not easy to answer for anyone new to the importation business, so let us expertly advise you on what you need to do and when.
RDY -
Recommend | Develop | Yield
Mark procured products for the Group at every level over many years in the Far East particularly China with a tremendous drive to seek out new products that could be launched in many of Europe's largest Telecoms groups and retail spaces. Mark’s success was key to our success in driving new product launches in the majority of our grocery and network clients.
MO
Group Managing Diretor
Compliance
Factory - pre production
Product
We can help you ensure your product meets the legal obligations required for the markets you are selling into.This can be managed by our compliance team, or offered as advice for you to follow up as a business with your own team. Or if required we can manage the compliance requirements on your behalf between factories and our nominated laboratories.
Often additional requirements may be needed to be fulfilled before you place your product on the market for example setting up accounts
to upload documents for cosmetics to the EU or UK portals. Setting up EU Responsible Persons for sales into the EU if you don't have an EU address.
Arranging 3rd party inspections prior to shipment.
We are happy to discuss and advise on the requirements of your product and proposed markets prior to making commitments to ensure a smooth hassle-free process.
Quality Management
QA - Quality Assessment ( pre & during production)
QC - Quality Control ( Post production)
Quality assurance and
quality control are two different aspects of ensuring your product arrives to the specification you required. One focuses on providing confidence that the quality requirements will be fulfilled, and the other relates to how a product is made.
Would you know what the factory standards in the Far East are? How would you know if QA and QC had been fulfilled? Who would you use to do these very important and often overlooked disciplines?
Again, we have expertise on hand from the team to guide you every step of the way. Don’t struggle trying to figure it out yourself. We have the method, let us teach you how to do it so you can Yield the benefits in the future and become self-sufficient.
RDY -
Recommend | Develop | Yield
Mark Hardy is a complete expert in his field and understands the markets he works in very well. He has detailed knowledge and contacts in the Far East in order to conduct business and offer huge benefits to his customers. He has successfully developed one of my most profitable products with the use of his contacts and can manage a project end to end. His expert knowledge of the Far East is vital to my business.
HC
Project Manager
Interested in our services? We’re here to help!
We want to know your needs exactly so that we can provide the perfect solution. Let us know what you want and we’ll do our best to help.
Nottinghamshire, UK
markh@rdyconsulting.co.uk
