There’s a reason why there are over four million retail workers in the United States. We rely on these professionals to supply the stores that we frequent every week.
Unfortunately, supply chain issues can make this task feel impossible. Specifically, when it comes to dealing with the vendors that ship products. So, how do you improve vendor compliance and deduction management?
Simple: by reading this article. In it, we’ll go over some tips for managing your relationships with these vendors. That way, you have less of a headache when it comes to your supply chain. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
1. Set Deadlines You Can Follow
You should be as realistic as possible when you set deadlines with your vendors. What’s more, you should ask them to do the same. Make sure that you base your schedule around what happens under normal working conditions.
You don’t want to be relying on scenarios where everything needs to go perfectly to make a deadline. If a vendor is frequently lying about deadlines, or missing them, then it’s time to find a new vendor.
2. State Your Expectations Clearly
You must state as clearly as possible your expectations to vendors. One way you can do this is by setting up vendor compliance programs. These programs are responsible for ensuring that all vendors follow legal, safety, and policy procedures.
You can also just talk to them. Describe the quality that you expect from the orders. You should also ask for samples.
Finally, ask for a guarantee, in writing, that they can live up to your expectations. If they consistently fail, then you can find another vendor.
3. Reduce Risk As Much As You Can
You assume liability when you purchase from a third-party vendor. So, you want to make sure that you reduce the amount of risk you face.
You can do this by asking vendors for a detailed list of the security issues they’re facing. Then, together you can go through and think up proactive solutions to the problems.
4. Automate Your Deduction Management
Shipper deductions can quickie eat away at your business’s bottom line. And disputing the deductions can be time-consuming and confusing. The solution is deduction management process software.
The solution is RPA or robotic process automation. This software uses bots for retailer automation.
Essentially, they dispute any claims on your deductions. That way, you can provide the correct documentation the supplier will accept the claim.
Enjoy Learning About Vendor Compliance? Keep Reading
We hope this article helped you learn how to improve your vendor compliance and deduction management. At the end of the day, the most important factor is openness.
Without proper communication, there will inevitably be issues in the supply chain. So, try to go with vendors that value this type of communication.
If you found this article informative, then you’re going to love some of the other topics that we have. We have categories in everything from business advice to entertainment. So, keep reading to learn more.
