We advertise that we have experience in sourcing hardware items for customers. This is not what many people think it is. It involves sourcing specialist door locks and hardware products world-wide for specialized customer requirements in Ireland.
Most secondary school students can source what they need in electronic gizmos nowadays on the internet from where ever the supply source is. This is sourcing of cheap fast moving consumer goods from where they can be bought cheaply on the internet. It is global sourcing but very different to what we do.
First of all, specialist door hardware is expensive. On our side we have specialist databases to source products and also a network of expert advisors to assist. The hardware products to be sourced are often expensive and very specific in technical specification. A widespread technical product understanding is vital and experience of specification terminology also. Price negotiation is not high on the list of barriers to success in this work, there is almost never negotiation on the level of price, trade prices are set and in place most often.
Because price is not an issue for debate, our end customers will often prepay for the specialist hardware needed. For us diplomacy is the top skill required, some way has to be found to get our orders up the line in a global battle for supply. First step, some way has to be found to get a reply form a very busy global manufacturing company that may be situated anywhere in the world. Next a global or continental Sales Manager has to be wooed and encouraged into action to help with the sourcing and specification , next a country distributor (most often not in Ireland) must be contacted and exactly the correct product ordered and prepaid for. Them the products are shipped to our stores in Ireland and onwards to the customer. In times of global shortages this is a difficult task. It is rewarding work on many levels, but money is often no help is getting priority of supply. Often manufacturers will intentionally leave out vital technical specifications from catalogues to insure any new customer must come through official sales and supply lines and be vetted as a fitting reseller of their products.
In the last few months we have had success in sourcing hardware manufactured in Tokyo, with the help of a Continental Sales Manager from the official French distributor, and we managed to achieve this in a major global shortage of the hardware products concerned.
We have recently supplied specialist hinges, and pivots, and locks and handles from Germany, Japan, Holland, France, Italy, the UK and China. Although most of our customers are Irish based, we have supplied customers all over the world.
It is an expensive demanding business and cannot be confused with buying on Amazon. Suppliers concerned have a strong global demand for their products, they mostly manufacture in small volume, they will only supply through official specialist supply channels. This is a highly structured controlled business and we have being successfully doing it since 1986.
If you need our expertise in our area of expertise, why not get in contact?
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