Do you care if your suppliers become your competitors?

[CES020]

I know this has been discussed in a few specific threads, but as a general rule, do you care if your suppliers become your competition? We've done a fair amount of wholesale CNC router work over the years and it seems that more and more material suppliers are installing CNC routers and offering the services. So essentially, our supplier has now become our competition. In our cases, we've stopped using the suppliers that go that route.

Do you care?

I did have to laugh, we stopped by one place one last time, the guy told us they were doing well but couldn't figure out how to keep smaller objects held down. He said if you want a 24" circle, they could knock them out. I walked back through the shop, looked at the spoil board and it had 1/4" deep grooves cut all through it, out the edges as well. I just smiled inside and kept on walking.

 

[Billct2]

Yes I care and I dropped a wide format supplier who opened a wide foramt printing division

 

[FatCat]

I for one don't like it. If a vendor wants to be my supplier they can't be my competition, as in sell the same products and services I offer. There is a clear conflict of interests there and I don't know how anybody would tolerate it. I know companies like Fellers tread close by selling to virtually any end-user, trade oriented or not, but anything beyond that and I have to draw a line.

 

[danno]

I really don't care. I have had people tour our shop, start their own business, then still send us work. I guess they can't figure it out or just don't want to. Yes, we have probably lost some business, but did you really want to keep what went away?

 

[CES020]

I really don't care. I have had people tour our shop, start their own business, then still send us work. I guess they can't figure it out or just don't want to. Yes, we have probably lost some business, but did you really want to keep what went away?

I think there's a big difference in someone walking through your shop and starting a sign company, knowing they have the same costs as you, but when your supplier becomes your competition, they have an unfair advantage, they've bought the material for considerably less than you have because they are the wholesaler of the material.

 

[Gino]

Well, I don't like it, but then I've been using some of our vendors for certain things whcih I can't do. They give me a far better price than my old wholesalers ever did.


We had one item that would cost us a little over $2,100.00 from our old wholesaler. From our vendor it now costs about $950.00 for the exact same thing and honestly, better turnaround, quality and makes us work together better on other things. The other guy was tops, but this cost savings is just amazing.

I find it worse of how many customers have become our competitors over the years. From two of our local hospitals, to the beer distributors and then some department store chains. Losing them all to a one-man push-button department. They eventually get the hang of it and start producing good stuff.

 

[Trip59]

We're not too big yet, so it's not a huge topic, but I did lose out one lucrative opportunity because the supplier of an item to a company bought an eBay import cheapie machine and started doing them in his livingroom. Because we'd have to get the item from them, and he can get them pre-mark-up, there's no way to compete.

 

[Commando]

3M started selling to counties. At least they did with one county that is a customer of ours.. Big county. a lot of business. Needless to say, we couldn't compete. If I remember correctly, they bid to them less than OUR cost. There is NO WAY they will use the materials we do..

 

[player]

Well, I don't like it, but then I've been using some of our vendors for certain things whcih I can't do. They give me a far better price than my old wholesalers ever did.


We had one item that would cost us a little over $2,100.00 from our old wholesaler. From our vendor it now costs about $950.00 for the exact same thing and honestly, better turnaround, quality and makes us work together better on other things. The other guy was tops, but this cost savings is just amazing.

I find it worse of how many customers have become our competitors over the years. From two of our local hospitals, to the beer distributors and then some department store chains. Losing them all to a one-man push-button department. They eventually get the hang of it and start producing good stuff.

It would suck to be your old supplier... He is out of business with that spread.

 

[Gino]

It would suck to be your old supplier... He is out of business with that spread.

Nope, not at all. He's doing great. He has close to 30 in-house wide format printers, 3 flatbeds, a huge CNC, four heavy duty sewing machines, 7 or 8 laminators and keeps them all running pretty much all day long/everyday. Not everyone is as penny-pinching as me and looks around. We're still friends, he knew I'd eventually leave him.

 

[Rick]

Every sign shop I send a bid too has an in-house deign team.

I do believe we are in competition, but they don't have
to hassle going back and forth with design, it's ready to bid.
I throw them a 100-200k job, I don't think they will go behind
my back and take my client but just in case, they do have to
sign a non-compete/non-disclosure.

 

[DIGIXTRA]

I think we have to accept the fact that this is the trend right now whether you like it or not. Look at all the big company like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft etc... they all have retail outlets in the mall which is killing Bestbuy...
My 2 cents

 

[GaSouthpaw]

I think we have to accept the fact that this is the trend right now whether you like it or not. Look at all the big company like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft etc... they all have retail outlets in the mall which is killing Bestbuy...
My 2 cents

I've never seen a Samsung or Microsoft store- but Best Buy deserves to go out of business.

 

[fresh]

I think that when suppliers start offering things like CNC, they are not going after your clients. Instead, they are looking to expand their offerings to their own clients, shops that may not have ever even attempted a dimensional sign until it was quick, economical, and easy enough to do so. They weren't calling you in the first place, and you may actually benefit from the increased market awareness!

 

[CES020]

I think that when suppliers start offering things like CNC, they are not going after your clients. Instead, they are looking to expand their offerings to their own clients, shops that may not have ever even attempted a dimensional sign until it was quick, economical, and easy enough to do so. They weren't calling you in the first place, and you may actually benefit from the increased market awareness!

Ummm....yes, they are. I said we do wholesale CNC work for local companies. Companies that buy the material from the supplier, bring to us and we route it. Now, they don't do that because they've taken the customers from me. I can't compete with them because I have to pay their price for materials. They don't, they get it a lot cheaper than they sell it to me for.

It's not like it killed us, we're always busy, but it's the principle to me. That would be like Fellers selling printed wraps to the public. If they sold vinyl to the public, they'd still need a plotter or printer to make it into something sellable. These people are making finished products and selling them to my customers, which happen to be other sign shops.

My guess is if Fellers, Grimco, Glantz, or anyone else started selling complete, finished wraps to people, it would be a boycott by a lot of people in the industry.

 

[Mosh]

Competition makes us all better...to a point.

 

[Auburnpeanut]

Ummm....yes, they are. I said we do wholesale CNC work for local companies. Companies that buy the material from the supplier, bring to us and we route it. Now, they don't do that because they've taken the customers from me. I can't compete with them because I have to pay their price for materials. They don't, they get it a lot cheaper than they sell it to me for.

It's not like it killed us, we're always busy, but it's the principle to me. That would be like Fellers selling printed wraps to the public. If they sold vinyl to the public, they'd still need a plotter or printer to make it into something sellable. These people are making finished products and selling them to my customers, which happen to be other sign shops.

My guess is if Fellers, Grimco, Glantz, or anyone else started selling complete, finished wraps to people, it would be a boycott by a lot of people in the industry.

I agree. It is the principle.

 

[Trip59]

Competition makes us all better...to a point.

To the point it runs folks out of business...? but I guess since they're not working from their houses or doing it part time, it's ok?

 

[SignManiac]

I actually try to educate my customers who may think a sign busy is easy and may want to consider opening a shop of their own. As I give them a tour of our 27k s.f. Building, I show and tell them the price of the $170,000 flatbed, the $70,000 CNC router table, the $40,000 solvent printer, along with the full blown wood and paint shop. This will usually end their desire to compete.

 

[Laz0924]

I've never seen a Samsung or Microsoft store- but Best Buy deserves to go out of business.

I agree Best Buy sucks!! One bad experience in the early 90's and I've never been back.