If you’re a retailer who buys your favourite bath from one supplier and your preferred shower tray from another, it might be time to rethink your product strategy, says MD of Ripples Paul Crow.

The industry is set to undergo significant changes over the next 3-5 years, and it’s essential we start thinking about how to turn this to our advantage now.

Bad news is never far away, and no matter how much we might want to resolve the world’s issues on LinkedIn, it doesn’t put money in the bank – and that’s the oxygen we need to survive.

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The once proud manufacturer, run by family founders of small domestic businesses, may soon find themselves under pressure to save the company by handing over shareholding and keys to a larger entity with the financial resources to navigate through the choppy waters they’ve found themselves in.

These new owners aren’t just bargain hunters seeking to buy fire-damaged businesses; they are strategically aggressive companies with a master plan to dominate a sector, even if it means squashing the occasional competitor in the process. That competitor could be your supplier today.

Avoid diminishing value

So, what does this mean for us? It depends on how you trade.

Working with your favourite supplier for certain products may have suited you in the past, but if you’re spreading your purchases too thinly across too many suppliers, your overall value within the supply chain is diminished.

Running manufacturing and supply-based businesses is becoming increasingly difficult in a world of rising costs and global competition, and there’s only so much that can be recovered through price increases and only so much that they will do for your money.

Competition for market share requires substantial financial resources, and like most sectors, it will always attract companies that are disrupting the landscape.

To put it bluntly, the more financially important you are to a supplier in your region, the better service, support, terms, and help you’ll receive when things go wrong – which they do often.

You’ll also lay a stronger foundation for building your business and increasing your own success.

Therefore, it’s crucial to stay informed by keeping an eye on industry news, understanding who you’re buying from, and developing a product strategy centered on suppliers who are invested in helping you succeed and this may mean placing your purchase order eggs in fewer baskets than you do today.