As a distributor, you’re always looking for new ways to increase profits, stand out and stay relevant. Can you give a creative boost to your current strategies? With a little forethought and ingenuity, you can draw from your strengths, revamp your creative arsenal, and develop products and experiences to keep your clients coming back. Use these five stellar strategies to get – and stay – on track.

1. All Custom, All the Time
Is your business set up to exclusively offer custom products? Doing so means eliminating concerns over handling excess product, allowing you to focus on each project and the client’s vision come to life. This leaves room for creativity, rather than trying to fit projects into an already existing niche. This has proven to be a smart business move for Greater China. “The fact that we’ve always been a custom supplier helps us stay relevant and on top of current trends,” says Mark St. Peter, an import executive and marketing manager for Greater China. “We aren’t saddled with inventory or specific products or designs that can quickly become outdated and undersold. Often, distributor clients come to us with an idea or range of ideas where they’re looking for a practical means to produce the product or to make it work in a more unique or specific way. Ideas can come from the need or from the application.” Going strictly custom means staying on the cutting edge because everything you create is new. 

2. Get It in Writing
Even the best-laid plans go awry, so get everything in writing. Not only does this ensure trust between you and the client, but also it gives you an outline that can be quickly shared among teams and staff to keep everyone on the same page. With all expectations laid out, you can focus on creativity. Work with your supplier to create a great proposal that ensures everyone in your supply chain is in sync. Greater China suggests offering a written proposal with a detailed product description and project scope for every request. Try to offer a quick turnaround – for example, Greater China aims for 24 to 48 hours. “Written proposals always outline detailed project scope and cost, as well as pre-production sample, production and transit timelines,” St. Peter says.

3. Do a Relationship Inventory
Don’t learn this the hard way – assess your relationships, fill in the cracks and work on making them stronger. If you’re missing strong connections, figure out why, because it’s probably costing you time and money.

“We never work with agents, middlemen or brokers to add additional cost and communication delays to the process,” St. Peter says. “These direct partnerships ensure you always have the best price, the most capable factory producing your project, and that every detail is managed with your best interest and expectations in mind.”

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