Is there a point to large suppliers anymore.
 

I occasionally buy stuff from the big glazing supply company online. Dont want to name it, but it bought out a great smaller company 10 years back or so and now it is the only real one left.

Only ordered because it was going to take over a week to get it on Amazon, from the same place. Looked faster from them direct.

Anyway, I needed a couole rolls of glazing tape and added a pack of rubber spacers. Total cost under 30 bucks. Weight, probably under a pound.

Got an order confirmation Friday, expected it yesterday, or today. Well, today I got another order confirmation with an additional 30 bucks in shipping and it hasn't even been shipped yet. So 30 bucks to ship something under a pound. The shipping is as much as the items. The tape is the size of a record, so not big at all. It looks like they had to wait until they got a shipping quote or something.

Wouldn't you expect a company that ships thousands of items a day to know what it would cost?

The kicker is I also needed 2 new suction cups. Looked on Amazon, same company selling them for 68 bucks with free shipping. Look on their site. 114 bucks each, plush shipping.

Ordered them the same time I ordered the tape. Got the cups yesterday and didn't even get a shipping quote for the tape until today.

Just makes me realize why these companies are going out of business and Amazon is eating their lunch.

I dont mind paying for extra shipping if I dont have a choice, but this is ridiculous.

Last year I needed some marine epoxy from System 3. It was out of stock on Amazon, so I called them. They apologized, because they had to charge shipping. In fact, they are the ones that suggested to buy it on Amazon, from them. I got like 10 pounds of stuff for 15 bucks shipped. I was fine with it, as I needed it in a hurry. Got it the next day or so, with a few goodies added in.

Just don't know why some companies just dont care about customer service. Maybe they are just too big to care.



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Yeah, i hate dealing with that "company" to. The more local to me company they bought out was great. When i buy from them it's a big order once or twice a year so shipping isn't so ridiculous. I never know what shipping is going to be until invoice is received.

Because business is often guided by bean-counter MBA's who think short term and can't fathom the concept of loyalty and service.

It blows my mind, for example, what that big national plumbing supply company doesn't carry in the stores...often have to order it and wait...including many service parts.

Small companies don't get the advantages of shipping rates that Amazon has methinks.

Not exactly related, but sort of. I needed something pretty quick. I paid extra for overnight shipping.
I ordered it, got a confirmation. Even got a shipping confirmation. Tracking showed it wasn't picked up for 3 days. I got overnight shipping, but they didn't ship it for 3 days.

I'm still annoyed by that.

For sure. System 3 has Amazon stock and fulfill a good selection of items. They just happened to be out and I couldn't wait.

Didn't mind paying, especially since it was reasonable. And also, because System 3 is a small company that I can call on the phone and get personal tech support any time I need it. I dont mind paying a bit more.

But this other order is stupid. I'll be calling today to cancel if it hasn't shipped out yet.

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My beef is when I get an email saying my order has shipped and when I check the tracking number all they did was generate a shipping label.

The billion dollar company probably lost money on your sale.


How would YOU treat some one that wanted two inches of window putty and 4 inches square of glass?


Your box cost more then the stuff in it....


If you really don't like waiting ORDER extra!, Who forgot to order the stuff prior to need?????


Always going to the high service lanes, will leave your business a lot less profitable.


Out side the "Box" answer, buy materials with your competition to increase both your profit margins?


Single source businesses end being "share Croppers" for the suppliers of the vital material(s)... with out Ford, Chevy pick-ups would cost over 100K$....

JIT aka Just in time warehousing has been around for several years but is getting bigger quickly. Now many times what ever you order is not even shipped from the company you ordered it from, it is direct shipped from the manufacturer or a bulk warehouse.

Business do not want to tie up money in inventory or a building to house inventory.

I checked the mail the other day and there was and envelope from the local plumbing supply store. The postage on it was $0.47 I opened it up and there was an invoice for $0.42.......I will be mailing them a check!!!

It's the plague of the digital age - while the convenience is great, large businesses that operate online just don't feel the need to take the time to actually provide a good experience for their customers.

They probably lose plenty of sales every day from people in a situation like this, but they make enough from the people who think 'meh it's not worth the hassle' (something I'm guilty of!) for there to be no impetus to change.

It's why I always try and support SMEs whenever possible - they still care. (Most of them anyway)

This us all management. Front office/back office processes.

If you want to check some of this, companies have seen how long it takes and how much it costs to just order and ship an empty box.

Obviously that company hasn't done its homework.

You're spot on - it's business 101, know the service you offer inside out, and make sure you communicate this to you clients. Shocking to hear when even large companies fail to tick the most basic of boxes.

That was my main complaint. It took 4 or 5 days to find out how much shipping was. Then I didn't have a choice to accept it or not, they charged my card and shipped before I knew the cost.

I dont think there are many if any other companies that do this. A simple shipping calculator would tell them the cost. If 25 bucks is the minimum shipping cost, so be it, but let me know when I order.

They bought out a great supply company that had sales reps and incredible customer service. In fact when we needed some advice on rehabilitating the glass shop we had just bought, the rep came in and spent a day with us showing us how to use the equipment, what supplies to order. He even gave us some hands on training. It was amazing.

This big company is just a warehouse from what I've seen. Phone service is pleasant and capable, but not on the same level as the old smaller company.

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