Getting Suppliers

Business Supplies
and not the pen and papers sort

Finished registering a business? Great. Just like me, you'd have to find some suppliers to get your running. I did this a couple of weeks ago and it was really difficult for us entrepreneurs in Malaysia since there isn't any real directory or listing to help us find suppliers.

I can guide you with what I did for my business, but you would need to apply it to your business sector.

First of all was getting an idea of where can you find suppliers. A great resource is actually alibaba.com which has suppliers from everywhere in the world with every kind of products imaginable. You just have to search hard for it. I searched a for a few local suppliers as I was new in the business and getting foreign suppliers would be counter productive. Although China could supply me with cheaper products the cost of transporting it here would be too expensive. I looked up for the local suppliers contact and called or emailed them regarding getting them to be my supplier. However most of them was uncooperative or had very terrible product selection. I had to abandon my online search for suppliers.

I turned to another idea, as I was involved in the retailing of phone accessories, why don't I head to the number one place in Malaysia to get phone related items. Low Yat. I chose a weekday morning where there will be the fewest number of people bustling around in Low Yat and went around asking shops if they supplied phone cases in bulk. I found a few at the back of the shopping areas. Usually they don't have fancy signs or any resemblance to a nice shop but they do have shelves filled to the brim with items you need. You can always go to an area that specializes in selling your items. Maybe for fashion items you can always head to Chow Kit areas. I've helped my friends find some suppliers there once or twice. 

Anyhow, I went to the few suppliers at Low Yat to get a baseline price for phone accessories and I was happy to find out that these items are supplied at way below the price of people selling it at stores. Like way way below. So I chose one shop that had a decent selection of items and registered my business with them. For the first time purchase I have to spend a minimum of RM 300 and any subsequent purchases need only be RM 100 minimum. RM 300 netted me roughly 50 items, mostly phone cases. I paid for the stuffs and went back. 

Now I had a decent suppliers and also more importantly I had the stuffs for me to sell. I sat down and catalogued my items in Excel. Naming them and giving them their sales price. I priced them at roughly double my cost price. I know this may seem like too much to some people, but doubling my cost price doesn't mean I'll receive 50% profit. I do have other cost to cover. 

Then I had the task of photographing them since by now I've decided to sell them online. Of course I needed photos of them. I browsed through the internet for people who sells these things and found that most of em just placed the items on their beds and take picture with their phones. Terrible lighting and photo quality. I decided I wanted it too look pleasing at the very least. However the process of doing so was quite lengthy and demands it's own post which I will diligently do so in the future.

In conclusion, suppliers are essential to your business success. If you can't get the best suppliers, you can't get the best things. This will affect you down the road. Search hard and research hard. Make sure they're trustworthy and cooperative in doing business with you!

Thats all from me now, I'll post up my online store obstacles next. Give me a comment about your tries on getting suppliers or if you have any question!

Yours truly,
Young and Gunning