In this day and age, buyers in any environment have far greater expectations than even just a few years ago. Times have changed and competitors keep raising their game. At the same time, the availability of products in all industries has become crucial. The relationship between demand and supply is therefore far more important than it has ever been and suppliers need to be smarter in how these expectations are met.

There are different reasons as to how and why products are purchased. In the B2B (business to business) environment, or in this case more specifically in the electronics industry, the purchasing reasons will predominantly be for those unplanned jobs, for specific projects or for repeat orders. So, whether purchase decisions are based on the need for those last minute components, a project planned long in advance or perhaps a recurring order placed on a monthly basis, suppliers still have big shoes to fill regardless of the purchasing reasons and have to respond to the increasing demands.

Buyers typically look at cost when they select a supplier, but cost not only relates to monetary figures in the traditional sense. Buyers also look at what they would be trading off, what costs could be passed on and their perceived value. Ideally, as consumers, we expect no tradeoffs but reality is that we typically trade off in some way.

There are many costs to consider when placing an order in the B2B environment. These include warehousing, stock availability, ease of interaction with the supplier, relationships with customs, good partnerships, sustainability of the supply chain, well designed systems making the process run smoothly, and having knowledgeable people on board once the products are in the country as they still need to reach the customer’s door. Finally, the quality of products and fast delivery could ultimately mean that engineers have faster time to market.

The cost of ‘lost time’ might therefore end up being far greater when waiting for a cheaper product to become available rather than relying on a supplier who fares well in terms of stock availability but potentially at a slightly higher cost. It is therefore very important to select the right suppliers who can meet all the necessary requirements relevant to the business in question. Quality, good service, stock availability and fast and efficient delivery should however not be traded off for anything.

It can be tough to perfect the art of distribution and it can at the same time be challenging to select the right supplier to buy from. Sometimes the force in choosing a supplier may be based on a good relationship with a sales person, other times it may be stock availability; perhaps the ease of placing orders may be the deciding factor or good pricing could be the tipping point.

RS Components is the epitome of a distributor that offers easy online ordering with an industry leading website through which visitors can receive quotes, save parts lists to make life easier the next time they order online, and see live stock availability, amongst other useful online features.

Apart from the easy to use ordering tool that is the RS website, the company also offers a broad range of up to 500 000 products from 2500 leading brands, meaning engineers can get pretty much everything they need from one central hub. RS boasts that its quick and convenient ordering process is complemented by swift delivery. Around 97% of its products can be delivered within four to six working days, while a great deal of them are available for same day despatch from its local warehouse.

The company believes that all of these aspects are of the utmost importance in a fast paced industry and that, even in the B2B distribution environment, service no longer has to take a back seat when it comes to the customer’s experience.