Here are the top 10 points that The Buyer took from a recent talk by Adam Porter on the key skills needed to be a successful wine and drinks buyer.
1
For Adam Porter the most important determining factor for any buyer has to be to ensure any product you are buying, or service you are investing in on behalf of your business is safe and legal. Simple as that. It is not about always trying to get the lowest price. But it is always about ensuring whatever contract you put in place is legally sound and provides you with a safe product to sell to your customers.
“If you can’t do that, then you don’t pass go,” is his clear message.
2
Second up comes auditing and business risk assessment. So even if you have assured yourself the contract is safe and legal, it is then vital you ensure whatever service or product you then receive matches the contract and the terms and conditions agreed.
3
Now we move on to quality. A buyer should guarantee the product they are acquiring reaches the quality levels you expect. “A supplier has to have the capability of delivering that quality. If they can’t then the deal can’t go any further,” he adds.
4
Then we come to price. For Porter an agreed price has to take in to account a number of factors, not just the actual price of the product, but any related costs that need to be factored in like marketing and promotional spends. Does your agreed price allow you to invest and support and back the product you are investing in?
5
Porter’s fifth priority is account management. It is one thing doing the safety, legal and quality checks and agreeing a price. It is another to follow up ensure the business relationship is sound and that payments can be made, inventories and stock levels can be maintained and that the goods can be in the right place at the right time.
“Here the needs of the buyer and the seller are actually very similar. There is not a lot of difference between the two, other than their market and supply chainhis han=be fair, commercially appropriate price that takes in to the considerations of both sides, the buyer and the seller.
6
Viability of the supplier. If you are working with a new supplier then it is essential you take out all the necessary checks and procedures to ensure they have the profitability and business security to work with you for the duration of the contract. This might, he said, involve look at what other contracts they have and their capacity to be able to work with you.
7
Linked to this is ensuring whatever price and terms you agree they work for both you as the buyer and them as the supplier. There is no point in driving down a price to a point that your supplier can’t fulfil it, or it puts them in financial difficulty. It is your job as a buyer to ensure what ever price agreed is going to ensure a successful partnership for both sides.
This, said Porter, could go as far as looking at how much money they are spending on promoting their brands and whether they can afford to invest that level of money and hit the targets you have agreed with them.
8
Scaleability. A good buyer/ supplier relationship should be one that can grow and build for mutual benefit so again it is important to work with a company that you know has got scaleability to drive up production if it is very successful.
9
Remember you are going to have to sell this product on their behalf so make sure it has a compelling back story, history or genuine interest that gets your customers excited about stocking it. If you have bought purely on price, then that might be good for your bottom line, but it won’t mean anything to your customer. They need to be excited about what you are trying to sell them. A classic rule of thumb is if you can’t sell the product yourself. Then don’t buy it.
10
Porter urges buyers to only work with businesses that can demonstrate a willingness to be flexible. To change labelling for different customers. Create a new blend for another. Making a decision on one product may not be enough. The best suppliers are the ones that are fleet of foot to offer different solutions for different customers and work with you to offer the best service rather than just stick to the initial plan and not budge.
11
He also says part of a buyer’s role is to sell their own company to any prospective new supplier. You can’t assume they will want to work with you. You need to convince them that you are the right partner to work with and why it is worth going the extra mile to do an additional blend, or offer a different label per customer.
12
Twelve simply stands for a 12 month plan. Whatever deal you come up with it should, as a rule of thumb, make a return and be profitable within a year. If it doesn’t then you need to go back to the drawing board.
Do you have any more points to add to the list?
