How to manage relations with your suppliers.
While construction projects always face different challenges, one of the biggest difficulties for larger contractors is managing their supply chain. In recent years, this has become even harder due to the growing power of suppliers. As such, it’s more important than ever for construction firms to develop strong relationships with the various players in their supply chain. But how can you accomplish this goal? Here’s what you can do to manage relations with your suppliers.
One of the main challenges of managing your supply chain is the fact that construction projects have multiple things going on all at the same time. For instance, you have contractors, designers, and architects all involved at different stages, and each team has its own unique set of needs. If communications are not streamlined and a project hierarchy is not established, then this can lead to confusion and inefficiencies. This is why project managers need to assert themselves and establish a chain of command. This way, all team members know what they are responsible for and who they go to for questions and concerns. When your internal operations are organized, it’s much easier to communicate your needs with suppliers and ensure that various suppliers know who they are reporting to.
Another important aspect of managing your supply chain is having clear directives for your suppliers. Rather than dealing with vague numbers and approximate prices, you need to come to suppliers with concrete details. Not only will this make things easier for suppliers to manage, but it also saves you from having to deal with issues such as insufficient or too many building materials. So, before speaking to your suppliers, you need to coordinate with your team and nail down specifics such as the type of building materials needed, the quantity of materials needed, and when materials need to be delivered.
These are some of the things that you should do to manage relations with your suppliers. Looking for more strategies to improve your construction projects? If so, then contact your Pleasanton contractor at Proforma Construction. Serving Pleasanton and the surrounding California area, our highly-trained team is ready to make your commercial construction dreams a reality.