02 Feb Finding a New Supplier (including our New Printing Supplier Visit Checklist!)
Finding a New Supplier (including our New Printing Supplier Visit Checklist!)
You’ve got a great supplier for your print. You’ve always used them and they’re a good bunch. They deliver on time, give you a good deal and always do exactly what they promise. You’re happy because they offer you great service. They’re happy because they’ve got a loyal customer.
But things do change. Printers fold (several in the UK in the last week). Familiar people leave and new people join; and you get the distinct impression you’re no longer the valuable customer you once were.
So you decide to look around – but where to turn? Exactly how do you evaluate a new supplier? Your print really works for you so you don’t want any screw ups. How do you jump straight into bed with a new, reliable printing partner?
Firstly, check out a previous article on what to look for at:
Once you’ve spoken to a number of printing services companies, marketing service providers – or just straight printers – you may decide it’s time to give one or two a visit. OK great. But what should you look out for?
Well, here’s a good starter for 10. Here’s a version of Webmart’s own New Print Supplier Checklist as a pdf.
Printing supplier checklist – click to download pdf.
Webmart’s Commercial Team use this checklist when visiting a printer to carry out an initial assessment. It covers everything from initial impression of the premises and health and safety, through to equipment, facilities, business USPs and so on. The checklist needs to cover all the parameters you could reasonably judge a new printing supplier by on a single, initial visit.
The data guides the visit and ensures our print buyers don’t miss any salient points. It’s also a permanent record to refer back to giving a 360 degree view of your printing supplier long after you’ve forgotten the visit.
At Webmart, this data is also used to start to drive expert print-buying and sourcing systems where a view of a print provider’s capabilities or equipment or USPs is required.
Feel free to download and use the checklist. If you do, we’d love to hear how useful you found it – or indeed any limitations you found or modifications you might suggest so we can update, improve and share back.
