The complete shop guide: organising orders with your suppliers

What it means to work well with suppliers

A shop's success depends largely on having the right product on the shelf at the right time. To do that a shop works with many suppliers, each with its own days, its own minimum order and its own habits. As a result, placing orders is a daily puzzle: one supplier by phone, another by chat, a third through a sales agent's notebook.

A well-organised system makes this puzzle noticeably smaller. The shop spends less time on orders, forgets less and has empty shelves less often. This guide goes through six steps: listing your suppliers, connecting, a usual-products list, ordering from one cart, receiving the delivery and a weekly rhythm.

The goal is not to change everything at once, but to make the daily routine take less of your time.
The biggest benefit is where you order the same things again and again.
The service is free for the shop, and payment on delivery still stays with the supplier, in cash.

Step 1: list your suppliers

Before you change anything, write down once who you buy what from. It takes less than an hour and makes everything after it simpler.

For each supplier note what they supply, which days they come and who your contact is.
Note the cut-off by which you must order for delivery the next day.
Find out whether there is a minimum order, and remember that it affects how much you take at once.
Sort suppliers by frequency: those you deal with every day or several times a week, and those you rarely use.
Notice who is late and whose products you often struggle to restock.

This list shows you at once where time is lost. Often two or three suppliers cover most of your orders, and that is where improvement starts.

Step 2: connect with your suppliers in Strelf

In Strelf a shop sees only the distributors that have approved it. That means you build your list yourself, from the suppliers you really work with.

Find a distributor by its identification code (9 or 11 digits) and send a request; it approves you on its own page.
When registering, the shop is identified by its own identification code, which is checked on RS.ge.
Place the pin on the map exactly at the entrance: it determines the delivery zone shown under the map, so check that it is right.
Ask the supplier to put your usual products in its offer and to have the prices written accurately.

A supplier may not trust a new system at first. Explain that it helps them too: the order arrives exactly as written and needs fewer phone calls.

Step 3: build a usual-products list

The biggest loss of time is searching for the same products again every day. A usual-products list solves this: you start the order from the list and the basics are not forgotten.

Write down the products you take several times a week.
Next to each, note the typical quantity, so you do not have to think it over each time.
Split it by supplier, so each product is tied to a delivery day.
Refresh it once a week: remove what you no longer take and add what is new.

We have a separate article on managing stock, that is, when and how much to order. The main point here is that the list is not an archive but a living tool that you review every week.

Step 4: order from one cart

Once your suppliers are connected and the usual-products list is ready, an order comes together in one cart: the shop orders from every supplier with a single cart, and each supplier receives only its own part.

Start with the usual products, then add what you particularly need this week.
Look through the cart before sending: quantity, unit (piece or case) and price.
Keep to the cut-off, so the delivery arrives on the day you planned.
After sending, follow the order status and do not phone the supplier.

The price is visible when you order, so there are no surprises at delivery. If anything changes, the supplier should confirm it to you in the system, not only by word of mouth.

Step 5: receiving the delivery and handling problems

Delivery is the minute when it becomes clear whether the goods match the order. So do not skip that minute.

Check what was brought against the order with the driver present.
Payment is cash on delivery, so make sure the final amount is what you actually received.
If something is missing or damaged, say so at once and record it before the driver leaves.
Check the date on dated goods and put the older stock in front.

A problem that was not recorded at delivery is hard to prove the next day. So recording it on the spot is better.

Step 6: a weekly review and judging your suppliers

A good system does not keep itself going. Ten minutes once a week is enough to see what works and what does not. Over time this short habit saves you the most money and time.

What sold a lot: these products should be near the top of the usual-products list, with a little extra stock in reserve.
What was left unsold: do not order the same quantity again, or take it off the list altogether.
What ran out earlier than planned: take more next time, or order more often.
What changed in price: compare the new price with the old one and decide whether the product is still worth keeping at the same margin.

In the same review, assess your suppliers too. This is not about blaming anyone but about seeing in good time where you have a problem.

Punctuality: do they arrive on the agreed day?
Accuracy: does the delivery match the order, and how many times was something missing or damaged?
Price stability: does the price change without warning?
Communication: if something could not be done, do they tell you in advance or only at delivery?

If a supplier fails two or three weeks in a row, first talk to them and say clearly what you need. If nothing changes, think about a second supplier in the same category, so you do not depend on just one.

One week in a shop: an example

Below is an illustrative week for a small shop with three suppliers: dairy, drinks and bread. Your days and suppliers will differ, but the rhythm is like this.

Monday: you look over the shelves and drinks are running low. From the usual-products list you add drinks and dairy to one cart and send both.
Tuesday: the dairy arrives. You check it with the driver, pay in cash, note that two cases are missing, and they move to the next delivery.
Wednesday: the drinks arrive. You check the dates and put the new stock at the back, the older in front.
Thursday: you make the cart for the bread supplier for tomorrow, since you need more at the end of the week.
Friday: the bread arrives, and the same day you look at next week's big orders, for example drinks for the weekend.
Saturday: you check what you used a lot of and what is left, and refresh the usual-products list.
Sunday: rest, or just a quick look, so you start Monday with the right list.

With a rhythm like this each order takes a few minutes and orders do not pile up through the week. The main thing is that you know in advance what you need and when it will arrive.

Common mistakes and a checklist

There is no usual-products list and everything is written again every day.
One supplier covers everything and another is left without orders, so keep an eye on how orders are spread between suppliers.
The order is made the evening before delivery and misses the cut-off.
The delivery is not checked, and the problem appears the next day.
The pin on the map is wrong, so the right suppliers do not show up.

Checklist:

You have a list of which supplier provides what, and on which day.
You are connected with the distributors you work with most often.
You have a usual-products list with quantities.
You order from one cart and look it over before sending.
You check each delivery on the spot and record any problem at once.

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