Now more than ever the impact of suppliers providing the wholesale dollar store items your business sells must be monitored. For those who own a dollar store the ultimate results you achieve for your dollar store business ride heavily on the performance of your wholesale merchandise vendors. Poor quality, high prices, incomplete orders, and slow delivery all mean you do not have the right products waiting for shoppers when they arrive. But what steps should you take to properly evaluate supplier performance without spending all of your time on this one task? In this article I provide critical steps to make the actual process thorough, yet pain-free.

• Establish criteria for vendor performance

Every dollar store owner needs wholesale dollar merchandise suppliers that can provide the dollar store items required to keep shoppers coming back time and again. Each store owner will have many similar, and likely a few unique requirements when searching for the perfect suppliers. It is important to document the criteria and then research any wholesale dollar merchandise company you are considering. For example; you might examine cost-of-goods-sold including freight charges, customer service, fulfillment percentages, overall value, and other key parameters.

• Conduct annual wholesale dollar merchandise supplier reviews

Examine all of your primary suppliers. Do not fall into the trap of assuming just because you know the process a supplier follows you should remain with that supplier. Review exactly how well they performed against all of the criteria you feel is important to your dollar store success.

• Work with unsuccessful suppliers

If the evaluation reveals an established supplier is not meeting your needs or the needs of your shoppers, be sure to try to work through the issue with that supplier. Of course, if the problem is too big, your best choice may be to look for others options.

• If a current vendor is still not meeting your expectations, then begin looking for other options

You should be on the lookout for new potential suppliers all the time. Then when a current supplier changes policies, no longer carries vital dollar store items, or is just not delivering to your needs, you do have options. Make sure your decision leads to the best results for your customers and for your business.

• Continually monitor performance against your criteria

It will be very obvious is the performance of a wholesale dollar store items supplier drastically changes. However, do make sure to routinely ask yourself if your primary suppliers are meeting your top criteria for a strong and successful working relationship. If not, be sure to start working to resolve the discrepancy with your wholesale vendor.

Eliminating a wholesale dollar merchandise vendor you had selected to partner in the success of your business needs to be carefully considered before making the move. Establish your criteria and continually monitor against that criteria. One important consideration is whether the dollar store items represent great value to your shoppers, who then quickly make purchases of the items you have displayed from all vendors.