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No wasn't able to secure it. Should have abused distributors to send us stuff without meeting their payment terms as written, since our fixed costs were low, pr
by thrwawyyy1905 7y ago
No wasn't able to secure it. Should have abused distributors to send us stuff without meeting their payment terms as written, since our fixed costs were low, profits excellent, and people loved it. Flying off shelves with high margin. At the time I thought meeting obligations as written was important for "karma". Actually, I now think giving the distributors another outlet is way better for karma and for them than not being behind on payments. Abusing them for credit is an easy win for everyone especially them (and they know it) - long-term health is much more important, and money is very scarce and pursuing it is a waste of time. We left behind disappointed customers who couldn't give us the money they wanted to, disappointed distributors when we weren't reordering, and an ecstatic landlord who got all our renovations for free after successfully evicting us. We should have left behind happy customers, distributors who loved thay we were selling all their stuff and ordering a lot more but a frustrated receivables department with them having to chase us for months, and a disappointed landlord that they were stuck renting a place in a prime location for so cheap, when it was now so palatial.
If profits are very high, sales are very high and the fixed costs are low, the missing part of the equation is payment terms. Abuse them. The distributors aren't going to go out of business if you pay them from your own profits on them. You will be the one to go out of business, if you try to get credit or factor it instead. Then they don't get any reorders from you. I really wish I had known this.
- kabouseng 7y agoRemind me to never be one of your suppliers. Not paying on time is a absolute shit head thing to do and suppliers will not* love you for it.
- bootloop 7y agoThis is normal business. Many companies will not pay before the get the first notice as it reduces the risk to pay bills for POs which were never fullfilled. Also, many businesses give you a discount when you pay on time: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skonto https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skonto (german) This practice is more popular in Europe because trust between companies is high (also because its harder to establish a business and you need assets as reserve).
- thrwawyyy1905 7y agoI was talking about large, established suppliers dealing in large volume, not you, unless you have a special AR department with multiple employees. what these established suppliers love is sales, growth, and especially reorders. obviously they need to be paid but establishing repeat channels is the most important for them. At the time, I had the perspective you just stated, and I thought large suppliers had the same perspective. they don't. (as the other reply to you stated.)