Paul Watson
Product manufacturing companies often look at multiple sourcing strategies when buying their shipping supplies and POS displays to showcase their products in the retail outlets. One of the questions each one asks is, where can I buy thermal transfer labels, shipping boxes, wooden crates and pallets at the lowest prices without compromising on the quality of the supplies sourced.
Yes, it is important to make sure that you do not lose sight of the quality of the shipping supplies when you are trying to cut costs while sourcing them. If you compromise on the quality then your products will experience damages during the shipping process and you would lose more money than what you would have saved by sourcing inferior quality supplies.
It is possible to enjoy the best of both worlds when you change your sourcing strategy. Instead of trying to source your POS displays or your thermal transfer labels from a sourcing agent, you should look for direct distributors. A number of manufacturers market their own products directly to the customers. When you find such suppliers, you will be able to have access to the manufacturer rates, which will bring you huge savings.
Therefore, the next time you ask yourself where can I buy POS displays, remember the above sourcing strategy. One of the challenges that you might face when you source your shipping supplies and POS displays directly from the manufacturers is that you may need to meet certain minimum order quantity requirements. There are manufacturers that set a low MOQ requirement. You will be able to find such manufacturers with a bit of a search. It is worth investing this extra time to find such suppliers because your efforts would bring ongoing savings.
When sourcing from the manufacturers directly, you can place blanket orders to meet order volume requirements and have your supplies delivered in a phased manner so that you do not have to worry about storage space or damages to the shipping supplies when you store them in large quantities.
By sourcing your shipping supplies such as thermal transfer labels, wooden crates and shipping tapes from the manufacturers directly, you will have better control over the turnaround times. Your manufacturer would give you a clear picture on the actual timeline. As you are dealing directly with the manufacturer, you can negotiate on the turnaround times so that your needs are met in a timely fashion.
If you are still wondering whether this strategy would work, then all that you need to do is to short list top three manufacturers of POS displays and shipping supplies and send a quote request. You will be able to find out how much you are likely to save when you source directly from the manufacturers. Once you identify the best manufacturer, you can approach them for all your future requirements. If the supplier you select manufactures complete range of shipping supplies, then you can source all your shipping supplies from a single manufacturer.
