Inventory management of surgical supplies and sterile ...

In this section, the publications that applied optimisation methods for management of surgical supplies and management of sterile instruments are discussed.

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4.1. Inventory management of surgical supplies

A very basic inventory control approach is ABC classification, where the classification is based on the cost of the supply. More attention should be paid to the A class that absorbs a high portion of the budget (70%) but accounts for a low percentage of the total items (10%). Around 20% of items fall in group B, which consumes 20% of the budget. The remaining 70% of items are Group C and they absorb 10% of the budget (Gupta, Gupta, Jain, & Garg, ). In conjunction with the ABC analysis, Gupta et al. () propose VED analysis, which relies on the criticality of the items. &#;V&#; stands for the vital items that the function of a hospital highly depends on. &#;E&#; stands for essential items; the quality of the service depends on this group. &#;D&#; indicates desirable items that do not inhibit a hospital&#;s operation if they are not available. The item classification is then extended by Al-Qatawneh and Hafeez () such that in addition to the cost and criticality, usage frequency is taken into account.

Given the most important items, extracted using the above-discussed methods, inventory models need to be established to decide on the inventory control parameters for these items. We have classified the optimisation problems of inventory management in hospitals in three major categories: (1) the global inventory comprises the papers that only address inventory management in the CS; (2) the local inventory consists of research that investigates methods applicable to department storerooms or POUs; and (3) the papers that consider both local and global inventories.

4.1.1. Global inventory

Two relevant studies have been found in the category of global inventory (see Table 6)

Table 6.

StudyStochastic/deterministicMethodObjective (cost component)DecisionStationary/non-stationaryConstraintType of goodFineman and Kapadia ()DeterministicEOQPurchase cost, order cost, holding costReplenishment amountStationary-Sterile suppliesDellaert and van de Poel ()StochasticSimple rulesHolding cost, ordering costs (reorder point), c (can-order), S (up-to-level)Stationary-Not specifiedOpen in a separate window

Fineman and Kapadia () are the first to study a closed-loop chain known as the &#;sterilisation processing cycle&#;. This process involves receiving contaminated medical devices used to perform a surgical procedure, then cleaning, inspecting, packaging, and storing the grouped items. The authors divide sterile stock into two categories: the processing stock and the replacement stock. The first one is required to support the processing cycle described above and the second one is required to replace items that are lost, damaged, or worn out. In analysing the two categories, demand is assumed to be constant, which simplifies the problem significantly. Thus, they use an EOQ model to determine the inventory requirements for replacement stock.

Dellaert and van de Poel () address the global inventories in a hospital which follow the (R, s, c, S) inventory control policy with stochastic demand. In the (R, s, c, S) model, if the inventory level for an item of a supplier (in R review cycle) goes below the reorder point (s), all other items of this supplier that are below the can-order (c) level are also ordered to increase the inventory to the up-to-level (S). They propose a simple rule for using a given R to calculate s, c, and S in an intuitive way with the aim of minimising total cost, including holding cost and ordering cost. In their evaluation, demands follow the Poisson distribution with normally distributed transaction size.

These early studies examine very classical inventory control models, which rely on assumptions that highly simplify the problem. Therefore, the provided solutions are far from practical and can only be considered as a general rule of thumb.

4.1.2. Local inventory

As can be seen in Table 7, seven research papers are dedicated to inventory models for the POU locations.

Table 7.

StudyStochastic/deterministicMethodObjective (cost component)DecisionStationary/non-stationaryConstraintType of goodBurns, Cote, and Tucker ()DeterministicEOQOrder cost, holding costOrder quantityStationary-Injectable suppliesLittle and Coughlan ()StochasticConstraint programingService levelDelivery cycle, service levelStationarySpaceSterile itemsvan de Klundert, Muls, and Schadd ()DeterministicInteger programmingDelivery cost, storage costDelivery timeStationarySpaceSterile instrumentBijvank and Vis ()StochasticMarkov chainMinimising the capacity, maximising service levelReorder point and order quantityStationaryService level, capacityDisposable productsRosales et al. ()StochasticSimulationOrder costReorder point, order quantity, order up-to levelStationary-Not specifiedRosales, Magazine, and Rao ()StochasticSemi-Markov processStock-out cost, replenishment costReview cycle, number of empty bins to trigger replenishmentStationaryInventory balanceNot specifiedDiamant, Milner, Quereshy, and Xu ()StochasticMarkov chainStock-out costInventory level for each instrument kitStationaryService levelSterile instrumentOpen in a separate window

An application of ABC inventory analysis to the injectable supplies in a care centre along with a classical EOQ model is demonstrated by D. M. Burns et al. (). However, such a model accounts only for the cost without considering other important elements in healthcare such as storage space, demand variability, service level, etc. Because the main goal of any healthcare organisation is to provide high-quality patient care, any effort for inventory cost reduction should not compromise the quality of care. In the context of healthcare inventory management, not having the supplies in stock when needed indeed has serious impact on the quality of care (Moons, Waeyenbergh, & Pintelon, ), which might lead to loss of life (Guerrero, Yeung, & Guéret, ). Measuring impact of such an inventory shortage on patients is difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, the occurrence of a shortage can be preventable by introducing service level as a constraint (Bijvank & Vis, ; Diamant et al., ; Guerrero et al., ; Nicholson et al., ) or an objective function (Little & Coughlan, ). Service level is usually defined as the fraction of the demand that is satisfied by on-hand inventory, without substitution or emergency delivery (Bijvank & Vis, ).

In this context, a general multi-product, multi-period optimisation model is developed by Little and Coughlan (), in which the CS requires delivery of a variety of items to different departments such as the operating theatre or laboratory. Constraint programming is utilised to determine the number of units of each item that needs to be stocked in the POUs, the frequency of delivery, and the best service level subject to the limited space. In their model, a range of desired service levels and delivery frequencies for each item is specified by the user and the model is validated by sterile and bulk items in an intensive care unit within a hospital in Ireland. This model is further developed by Bijvank and Vis () with the consideration of both service requirements and the capacity limitation. The authors provide a capacity model with the objective of maximising the service-level subject to the limited capacity. They also examine a service model with the objective of minimising the required capacity by considering the service level as a constraint.

van de Klundert et al. () address managing of reusable instrument kits to improve their flow between the central sterilisation locations and ORs. They determine the optimum delivery time with the objective of minimising the delivery cost and the storage cost. The storage capacity at the ORs and the capacity of the transportation vehicle are restricted. Since they consider deterministic demand, no stock-out cost is taken into account. However, they suggest keeping safety stock and proposed four replenishment policies to cover the shortage caused by the variation in demand. Diamant et al. () further address the problem of managing reusable instrument kits by considering the stochastic daily demand for instruments. They focus on determining the number of instrument kits that need to be stocked to maintain high service levels. Their model does not deal with the problem of kit configuration (ie, the required instruments to be included in each kit). Instead, the optimal inventory level for each instrument kit, given the predetermined composition of kits is provided.

Emerging advanced identification technologies such as automated dispensing machines (ADM), barcode, and RFID have encouraged researchers to investigate hybrid replenishment policies. Rosales et al. () describe a hybrid model for a single item where inventories in the POUs were replenished periodically according to the (s, S) policy at the beginning of the shift. However, between two consecutive periods, whenever the inventory level reaches a threshold R, an out-of-cycle replenishment would be triggered with the size of Q (ie, a continuous (R, Q) policy). Their results show that the hybrid policy is better than pure periodic review or continuous review policy in terms of the cost, inventory and reduction in the number of replenishments. The single item model is then extended by Rosales et al. () to a multi-item one. In addition they propose a methodology to compare two inventory systems in POU locations: a two-bin system, which is a periodic review policy and is widely used in POU locations, and a bin-level RFID-enabled tag, which is a continuous review policy in the bin level. In the two-bin system, they try to find the optimal value of the reviewing cycle, called parameter optimisation, and the bin-level RFID system aims to find the optimal number of empty bins to trigger a replenishment. They compare the performance of the two policies, called policy optimisation, in terms of the cost per unit time. The objective function minimises the stock-out cost and replenishment cost with the assumption of a fixed size for the bins. Unlike the previously discussed studies, Rosales et al. () directly measure the stock-out cost by estimating the time spent by nurses to request and receive the required items. The implication of such a stock-out on quality of care, however, has not been taken into account.

4.1.3. Global and local inventory

In hospitals, the inventory decisions at downstream locations of the internal supply chain (ie, point-of-use locations) are connected to the inventory decisions at upstream locations (ie, central storage) and vice versa. Therefore, an integrated approach of local and global inventory optimisation models is necessary to reach a more practical model. A summary of the publications containing the integrated approach along with their specifications is presented in Table 8.

Table 8.

StudyStochastic/deterministicMethodObjective (cost component)DecisionStationary/non-stationaryConstraintType of goodNicholson et al. ()StochasticMathematical programingHolding cost, stock-out costPar-level (up-to-level)StationaryService levelNot specifiedHammami, Ruis, Ladet, and Hadj Alouane ()DeterministicLinear and non-linear programmingHandling cost, holding costPeriod and the quantity of replenishmentStationarySpaceSurgical suppliesLapierre and Ruiz ()DeterministicLinear ProgrammingHolding costPeriod and the quantity of replenishmentStationarySpace, human resourceNot specifiedRappold et al. ()StochasticLinear programingHolding and Shortage (backorder) costPurchase quantity, number of prepared items (kit), transferring unprepared and prepared amount to the OTNon-stationaryAvailability of stock in CSSurgical supplies, surgical kitGuerrero et al. ()StochasticMarkov chainHolding cost in CS and POUss and S for central warehouse and POUsStationaryService level, ordered quantity by CS, Storage capacityInfusion solutionsWang, Cheng, Tseng, and Liu ()StochasticSystem dynamicInventory costReplenishment quantity, safety stockStationary-Not specifiedOpen in a separate window

The procurement department in hospitals has to make scheduling decisions in terms of when and how often each point-of-use should be visited for replenishment. These decisions would indeed affect the staffing decisions (eg, how many workers are required and when they should work). Lapierre and Ruiz () consider a scheduling approach to address a multi-product, multi-period, two-echelon internal supply chain system where the CS purchases supplies from external suppliers and is responsible for delivering the required amount to the POUs. In addition to the primary objective of minimising the total inventory (holding) cost, limited availability of human resources led them to define a secondary objective of balancing the workload over the weekdays. The model decides when the POUs should be visited and how much of each product is delivered to the POUs.

Despite the papers discussed in the previous section that defined the service level as the percentage of demand coverage, Lapierre and Ruiz () describe the service level as the frequency of visits to POUs. They assume that minimisation of the inventory cost would force the model to increase the service level. Guerrero et al. () use a constraint to provide a minimum service level (ie, probability of avoiding stock-out in a given period) in a stochastic, multi-product, two-echelon (s, S) inventory control system. In their model, a central warehouse receives infusion solutions from the external suppliers and distributes them to the POU locations in different hospitals that all belong to the hospital&#;s network. Wang et al. () incorporate a system dynamic approach, in which a set of decisions is changed in response to changing of the input information, to minimise the inventory cost without occurrence of stock-out.

Nicholson et al. () go beyond the internal supply chain for addressing inventory management in hospitals. They consider a healthcare provider network in which a central warehouse, owned by the provider, receives supplies and distributes to the hospitals inside the network. Each hospital has its own central storage and distributes stock to its departments. The authors formulate two models. The first model is a three-echelon system containing a central warehouse, a central storage room in each hospital and POU locations in the departments. The second model contains a central warehouse and POU locations with no central storage room, in which the distribution of the non-critical items are outsourced to a third party. They conclude that outsourcing will reduce the inventory cost without having a negative impact on the quality of services. This finding is consistent with the benefits of outsourcing some logistics activities reported in the literature (Beaulieu, Roy, & Landry, ).

Hammami et al. () consider a classical (R, Q) inventory model, as well as a supply chain approach for surgical supplies in a system where supplies are stocked in ORs, block warehouses (Cores) and CSs. However, they simplify the model by excluding the ORs from investigation because the inventory level in the ORs is highly dependent on surgeons&#; estimates of need. This is due to the fact that patient condition may unexpectedly change during their stay in the hospital, and consequently induce unplanned requisition for some supplies. Modelling the system in this way (ie, removing ORs from the model) would over-simplify the problem, which leads to formulating an unpractical model. Vila-Parrish, Ivy, and King () describe an inventory model as a Markov decision process to manage perishable drugs by considering the possible changes in the patient condition. Although addressing perishable products goes beyond the scope of our review, incorporating patient condition in the study of Vila-Parrish et al. () is an interesting issue. In their model, patients are classified into N types. Each patient type has an associated profile of prescription drug usage (which resembles a BOM). They assume that patient condition (type) changes stochastically overtime. In the event of a stock-out, demand would be satisfied from another location (eg, other hospitals).

Some research has incorporated the concept of the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) to address the material planning problem in hospitals. The backbone of MRP relies on the Master Production Schedule (MPS) and the Bill of Materials (BOM). Stevenson () defines the MPS as &#;which end items are to be produced, when these are needed, and in what quantities&#; (p. 502) and the BOM as &#;a listing of all of the raw materials, parts, subassemblies, and assemblies needed to produce one unit of a product&#; (p. 503). In the healthcare context, the master surgery schedule (MSS) can serve as the MPS (Roth & Van Dierdonck, ). The BOM can be created through a system called diagnostic-related groups (DRGs). DRG classifies patients into clinically similar groups often based on the similarity of the procedure (or a group of procedures) and their ages (Roth & Van Dierdonck, ). Patients in the same group require similar treatment and therefore a similar BOM. Showalter () is the first one who used the MRP concept for material management in hospitals. Roth and Van Dierdonck () discuss that the traditional MRP has shortcomings when applied in hospitals. They develop a control system called Hospital Resource Planning (HRP) based on the MRP II concept in a deterministic condition. Van Merode, Groothuis, and Hasman () suggest using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (ie, the next generation of MRP II), in planning and controlling a hospital&#;s deterministic processes.

The flow of surgical supplies and challenges in the ORs are referenced by Rappold et al. (). They utilise MRP to address the material planning problem in the OR and discuss that the MSS, and consequently the scheduled procedures, are usually known weeks in advance. In this context, they consider two types of uncertainty in the OR. A stochastic number of surgical procedures performed in a day (resulting in a stochastic number of surgical cases) and a stochastic BOM (SBOM) (resulting in a stochastic usage of supplies). The source of the SBOM is the surgeon &#;preference card&#;. Although it is determined by the surgeon, the actual usage amount would be different case by case depending on the condition of the patient during the procedure, even for a given surgeon and specific procedure. The authors take uncertainties into account and formulate a model that provides an optimal purchase quantity from the supplier, as well as transferred unprepared and prepared (kitted) quantity to the Cores subject to the available stock in the CS. Finally, they quantify and evaluate the impact of information sharing between the surgical scheduling department and the material management department (to decrease schedule uncertainty), as well as the consequence of BOM standardisation (to decrease BOM uncertainty) among the physicians by varying their corresponding Variance-to-Mean Ratio (VTMR).

One important aspect of inventory control models, especially in the highly uncertain environment of healthcare, is how the models address the uncertainty involved in the system. In the supply chain context, there are two main sources of uncertainty, which can result in undesirable system performance, eg, shortage of required supplies and shortage of capacity. The first source, which is called disruption risk, is caused by the occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, epidemic diseases, environmental crises, and other sources of loss. The second source, operational risk, is caused by the intrinsic uncertainties of supply chain parameters such as uncertainty in demand, transportation time and cost, and lead time (Farrokh, Azar, Jandaghi, & Ahmadi, ; Tang, ).

Prior research that incorporates stochastic models (discussed in Sections &#;4.1.1, &#;4.1.2, and &#;4.1.3) does not clearly specify which sources of uncertainty were considered. According to the formulations, which often fitted a probability distribution to the historical data to model demand structure, we conclude that these prior studies just dealt with the operational risk. However, Tang () discusses that the impact of the disruption risk on the supply chain is greater than the operational risk. The scope of this article does not review the different methods that are applicable to deal with each type of uncertainty. To read more details about the methods of stochastic programming and the papers that dealt with either operational risk or disruption risk in a general supply chain, one can refer to the review paper by Govindan, Fattahi, and Keyvanshokooh () and for a method to cope with the hybrid uncertainty (both operational and disruption risks), we refer readers to Farrokh et al. ().

To ease things up for you, we&#;ve put together the most important questions to ask your wholesaler .

If you&#;re a newcomer to buying wholesale , chances are you neither have an idea where to start looking nor know what criteria to have in mind when the time comes to make a choice.

However, not all wholesalers contribute to these satisfying numbers. Therefore, it&#;s important to bear in mind a few things instead of jumping headfirst.

You can only imagine the number of sales made on a global level.

As reported by Statista , the US wholesaler sales have reached an estimated amount of around 670 billion USD with an increase of around 10 billion USD within one year .

The reasons behind this preference are numerous, but we won&#;t go into detail since the sales numbers can speak for themselves.

It&#;s no secret that wholesale is classified as one of the most preferred supplying methods among others, such as dropshipping .

How long have you been offering wholesale services?

The best way to verify that the supplier you&#;ve chosen to collaborate with is reliable and sells genuine wholesale products is to find out as much information as possible regarding their experience and work history.

Wholesalers who have secured a network of loyal clients and have been on the market for some time are certain to be more trustworthy and provide you with better wholesale service.

Of course, you can always do a full investigation by yourself by:

• looking at their website
• browsing the company&#;s name on Google
• reading reviews on Trustpilot.

However, it&#;s even better to ask them directly as they may share details that haven&#;t been published online which could end up being decisive information.

What merchandise do you sell?

Understanding the merchandise your wholesale supplier offers is crucial for aligning their inventory with your store&#;s needs.

When selecting a supplier, ask for a comprehensive list or catalog of the products available. This list should include detailed information like product categories, materials, sizes, and variations.

For instance, if your niche is high-end fashion, you&#;d want to know whether the supplier provides a consistent supply of luxury clothing, accessories, or footwear, and if they carry premium brands or focus on unbranded items.

Additionally, inquire about new product launches or seasonal collections to ensure your store can keep up with market trends.

Don&#;t forget to ask about quality control measures and how they ensure the merchandise is free of defects.

How do orders work?

Understanding the supplier&#;s ordering process is vital to maintaining efficient operations and meeting customer expectations.

Begin by asking if there is a need to create an account on the supplier&#;s platform. If so, this may require you to provide some business details, such as your name, number, address, business name, business permit, or business registration number.

Once your account is verified, you&#;ll probably gain access to their wholesale catalog, where you can browse the full range of products available.

in most cases, you can put products you want to order in your shopping cart and finalize your order by paying with card.

How often do you update your inventory with new products?

Besides making sure the supplier has sufficient experience, store owners should prioritize finding vendors for your business that offer new clothing arrivals on a regular basis.

For every store out there, the main source of success comes from keeping customers content which is best done when providing them constantly with the latest products.

This recurrent update on items will continuously draw their attention, making them keep coming back to your shop and eventually turning them into a regular clientele.

Do you offer diverse products?

It goes without saying that product diversity plays a crucial role in retaining customers and preventing them from checking out competitors&#; stores.

That&#;s why in your search for the finest wholesaler you should never forget to ask potential suppliers about the variety of products they have at your disposal and estimate if that amount would satisfy your customers&#; needs.

Therefore, don&#;t rush into choosing a supplier before confirming that they offer a wide-ranging portfolio of brands and products that&#;ll not only bring you happy and loyal customers but also assure you notable revenue growth.

If you are getting into the fashion industry, make certain your supplier of choice covers enough categories of winning products for both men and women to be able to meet shopping enthusiasts&#; expectations.

Are the products you&#;re offering authentic?

In case your niche consists of selling high-end fashion products, it&#;s of the utmost importance to verify their authenticity as there are many suppliers offering knock-off items that you may end up purchasing without realizing they&#;re counterfeit goods.

So, when browsing for wholesalers of luxury brands, remember to look for suppliers that stand behind their products&#; authenticity and would stock your store with genuine brands.

Could you provide me with a product catalog?

The product catalog is every wholesaler&#;s most significant part of their website, giving prospective customers a sneak peek into their inventory, enough to make a general evaluation of the items they&#;re selling.

However, many business owners may stumble upon wholesalers that offer an extremely limited preview of their catalog, making the rest of the products available only after one decides to use their services.

So, try to avoid these suppliers and stick with those who give clients access to check out their merchandise by registering for free like BrandsGateway and their catalog of the latest trending clothing items.

Is there a minimum order quantity?

The minimum order quantity can vary tremendously from one wholesaler to another but it mostly depends on the type of products being sold.

For instance, expensive products usually have a higher MOQ than those sold at cheaper prices because they&#;re high-quality authentic products that are obtained from authorized entities.

Thus, it&#;s best when clients are informed upfront about the MOQ in order to be able to calculate in advance their order expenses and see if they can fit them into their budget.

Where is the merchandise sourced from?

The location where the supplier&#;s merchandise is produced can say a lot about the quality of the products.

Although many suppliers source their goods from authorized vendors and then sell them to retailers, outlet owners, or eCommerce stores, an even bigger number source them from unreliable manufacturers, some of which are known to have significant disadvantages such as the cons of Chinese suppliers.

Because of that, it&#;s highly recommended to check where your wholesale supplier sources their merchandise from prior to buying a poor-quality bulk of items.

Further reading:
Q: How do I choose a hospital bed for home use?

Want more information on Surgical Products Wholesale? Feel free to contact us.

Where are your warehouses located?

The whereabouts of your potential wholesaler&#;s warehouses are another thing clients should take into consideration, especially because it can greatly affect the delivery time.

In addition to the price paid when purchasing the products, the buyer is also required to cover custom duties for exporting and importing merchandise from one country to another.

That being the case, try to opt for a wholesaler who has warehouses in several places around the world, such as BrandsGateway, which will not only reduce your expenses but also provide you with fast and convenient delivery services.

What is your shipping policy?

Another vital thing wholesale suppliers should inform you about is the approximate time it would take for them to deliver your orders.

You wouldn&#;t want to find yourself in a situation in which customers can&#;t make a purchase of a certain item because your store is out of stock.

Therefore, just like previously mentioned, when choosing a supplier, keep in mind both the location of the warehouses and the time it might take for orders to be handed over to you.

Can I track my orders?

In order for you to be able to keep an eye on your packages, ask your wholesaler if they offer the possibility for you to track your delivery.

In that way, you can be kept posted on the status of your order at all times and be notified almost instantly in the case of any shipping delays.

Hence, make sure to pick out a supplier that would provide you with a tracking number, as BrandsGateway does with its clients, so you could constantly be kept updated on where your order stands.

Do you ship worldwide?

Before trying to figure out delivery costs, order tracking, or shipping time, you need to find out if the potential suppliers you&#;ve been looking into ship globally or just locally.

If they don&#;t ship to your location, you&#;d only be wasting your time with them.

You shouldn&#;t be surprised if you ever come across wholesalers who limit their shipping abilities and offer delivery services only within the countries their warehouses are situated in and sometimes including neighboring states.

For that reason, always make sure that you work with a supplier that ships worldwide so that you can build an international eCommerce business.

What are your return policies?

Being aware of return and refund policies is crucial in the event of having to deal with damaged goods.

Thus, it&#;s important to have a clear understanding of how your supplier manages situations when clients wish to return products or cancel orders.

Some might offer monetary reimbursement, some may provide store credit, while others might give out coupons or discounts.

In addition, be on the watch for any hidden fees or additional charges that could be imposed by the supplier.

Who covers the costs in case of returns?

In most cases, suppliers rarely offer freight-collect services concerning the return of products.

In other words, the buyers are the ones responsible for covering the shipping costs when sending items back to the wholesaler.

However, there are suppliers that do bear those costs in the event of merchandise that is faulty, has been damaged, or wrongly shipped.

In order to benefit from a full refund in cases like these, suppliers are likely to ask you to provide them with photos of the products concerned.

After they&#;ve accepted your request, they&#;ll be able to reimburse you for your loss.

Therefore, have a good look at the terms and conditions of your wholesaler and take careful notice of the returns and refunds sections.

What payment methods do you accept?

One more key question to include in your list is regarding the payment methods of the wholesalers you have set your mind on working with.

Taking into account the pros and cons of various payment methods, depending on your preferences and possibilities, you might find some of them are less while others are more suitable for your business.

Thus, it&#;d be wise to opt for suppliers who present clients with the opportunity to choose among different types of payment.

In this manner, you&#;d have the freedom to determine which option would work best for you.

What do your payment terms involve?

To avoid any inconveniences, it&#;s essential to settle the payment terms with the supplier, meaning, to agree on when payments should be installed.

Usually, wholesalers have clearly defined payment times that clients are expected to respect.

However, for different types of items, there may be different payment terms to be met.

Hence, it&#;s important to inform yourself thoroughly about invoice deadlines so there won&#;t be any confusion or unexpected situations.

What are the anticipated profit margins?

Do you offer discounts?

When purchasing products in bulk, luxury brands particularly, wholesalers try to abstain from giving discounts.

It&#;s an industry standard that has been around for a long time and suppliers attempt to stick with it.

Nevertheless, during the holiday shopping season, chances are you&#;ll come across discounts for particular categories of products and brands.

So, stay in tune with your supplier so you don&#;t miss out on those opportunities.

Do you provide customer service?

You know that a wholesaler is worth doing business with when they not only supply clients with excellent products but also have at disposal exceptional customer service.

Whether it&#;s about the above-discussed delivery issues, merchandise troubles, or something else, clients should always be able to lean on customer support for any kind of problem that may arise.

In that way, they can keep steady communication with the supplier around the clock.

Do you have customer reviews available?

Last but not least, customer reviews and references exert an astounding influence on clients&#; decisions.

In a survey conducted by PowerReviews, 98% of consumers said that reviews are an indispensable step when purchasing merchandise, thus, giving them a decision-making role in the purchase process both in the B2C and B2B marketplaces.

So, it wouldn&#;t be a bad idea to request from suppliers credible reviews. To illustrate, wholesaler BrandsGateway supplies interested retailers with such testimonials, furnishing them with evidence that BrandsGateway is legit.

Final thoughts

As your store grows and expands, you&#;re likely to constantly come across new wholesale suppliers.

Some of them might emerge immediately as the perfect match, while others might not be up your alley.

To be 100% sure that they are someone your store would benefit from working with, we recommend putting these questions to use when business talks are in progress.

Thus, we advise you to have this list on hand so you can come back to it whenever you need to evaluate new partners and verify the reliability and authenticity of their services and company.

For more Surgical Instruments Wholesaleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.