Here are some quick tips to help you find an initial list of wholesale providers for the services you need:
- Ask your current providers about their competition. All companies will compare themselves to what they believe is their largest competitor. Flushing out this information from your current wholesale providers will give you a good start to finding alternate companies to contract with. If you do not have any current wholesale providers, you can still use this strategy once you find at least one or two wholesale providers by asking them how they compare to their closest competitor.
- Use the Internet. If you landed here, then odds are you know how to use the internet to do searches. The big problem, however, will be too much information or searches riddled with spam sites. For example, if you try searching for something like wholesale IPod’s you will get 100’s of useless sites. The key to using searches on the internet is to find industry related forums or member sites that will help lead you to legitimate wholesale providers for the services you need. If you think you have a legitimate company but are unsure, then try searching for comments, reviews, or discussions about that company. For almost any industry, you can be certain you will find discussions about suppliers and the procurement of services for that industry.
- Review your contacts and find ones that are in like industries or that are in companies that would use similar services and ask them about their wholesale providers. Even if the product is not the same, it can still sometimes help you generate an initial list. For example, content delivery companies, CLECs, call centers, and web hosting companies would all share a need for telecommunications services. If you had a contact at any one of these types of companies you could probably get a good list of telecommunication providers to start your own list.
- Lastly, reverse engineer. Whatever product or service you are building there is probably a competitor already doing it. Look at their product or service and try to determine where they procure their services and supplies. You can find clues in financial records, press releases, manufacturing processes, or sometimes in the product fine print.
Finding new wholesale providers can be a daunting task, however, a good search and proper follow up can lead you to good providers that will help make your product a success. Spend the time to do proper research, if you do not have that time then higher a company to help you. Finding the right wholesale provider should be an integral part your business and one that can have large impacts to product delivery if not done correctly. Good Luck!
