Questions to Ask a Supplier
Questions to ask a supplier before you place an order, written for an owner, buyer or operations lead sizing up potential suppliers. The first six are the ones for a first call with a new supplier: price, minimum, lead time, payment, samples and who really makes the goods. The rest go through price, delivery, quality, the company behind the quote and how the two of you would work together. The guide underneath covers comparing the quotes that come back, the questions suppliers ask in return, and what to keep checking with your suppliers once the orders are running.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
First call
What is your price per unit at the quantity I need, and what does that price include?
Why ask it
A unit price means little until you know whether packaging, freight, duty and tax are inside it. Ask for it split into material, labour, packing and delivery as well. When an increase turns up later with material costs given as the reason, you can see how much of the price that material ever was.
What is your minimum order quantity, and will you take a smaller first order?
Why ask it
Minimums on a first order are often softer than the price list suggests, especially if you offer a higher unit price for the trial. If the answer is a flat no, find out what sets the number: a material lot or a machine setup is a real limit, while a house rule may bend once they know your yearly volume.
What is your lead time from order to delivery, and what has it actually been over the last three months?
Why ask it
Plan against the recent figure, not the quoted one. If nobody can tell you how the last few orders ran, lead time is not being measured there, and the first you will hear of a slip is an empty shelf of your own.
What are your payment terms, and what do you ask of a new customer?
Why ask it
A deposit or payment up front is a common request on first orders, with credit terms following once a few have gone cleanly. Get the trigger for that move stated now. On a large order, try to keep part of the payment back until the goods have arrived and been checked.
Can you send samples from a normal production run before I commit, and what do they cost?
Why ask it
Ask how the sample was made, since one built by hand in the sample room says little about what the line turns out. Once you approve one, keep it, signed and dated, and have the supplier keep its twin: that pair settles most later arguments about what was agreed.
Do you make this yourselves, buy it in, or subcontract part of it, and to whom?
Why ask it
Buying through a distributor or trading company is not a fault: they may hold stock nearby and sell in smaller quantities. It does put a margin and an extra step between you and whoever can fix a problem, so learn which work happens under their own roof and who does the rest.
Price
Where are your price breaks, and what does the unit price fall to at each one?
Why ask it
With the break points named, you can weigh a bigger order against the cost of storing it and the cash it ties up. A vague 'we can do better at volume' means haggling from scratch on every order.
Which one-off charges sit outside the unit price: setup, tooling, plates, artwork, sample or small-order fees?
Why ask it
These arrive on the first invoice, and on a short run they can decide which quote is really the cheapest. Find out which are charged once, which come back on every reorder, and whether any are credited after you pass a certain volume.
What can you customise, such as size, material, finish or branding, and what does each change do to the price and the minimum?
Why ask it
Standard options are cheap because the supplier already buys and stocks for them. Every departure from standard tends to raise the minimum and lengthen the lead time, so learn where the standard range ends before you design past it.
Does your minimum apply to the whole order, or separately to each colour, size or variant?
Why ask it
A minimum of 500 across the range and 500 of every colour in every size are far apart in cash and shelf space, and a quote rarely says which it means. Ask the same about reorders, where a supplier that mixed variants once to win the first order may not do it again.
How long does this quote stand, and can the price be held for a fixed period or volume?
Why ask it
A quote with no expiry date can be withdrawn the week you are ready to order. A held price normally costs you a volume commitment, and the part to pin down is what happens to that price if you buy less than you said.
How much notice do you give before a price increase, and when did you last put prices up?
Why ask it
The notice you need is at least as long as the prices you have promised your own customers, so work that out before the call. How the last increase was announced, by letter months ahead or on an invoice, is a fair preview of the next one.
If your material costs fall, does my price come down the same way it goes up?
Why ask it
Increases tend to be passed on promptly, while decreases wait until a customer asks. Where the price follows a named material or a published index, get the review written to run in both directions on a fixed schedule.
Is there a discount for paying early or for committing to a year's volume?
Why ask it
Cash sooner and certainty about demand are both worth something to a supplier, and some will trade a little price for either. Weigh an early-payment discount against what that cash is worth inside your own business, and a volume commitment against what you would owe if sales fall short.
Delivery
What is your on-time delivery rate, and how do you define on time?
Why ask it
Definitions do the work here: measured against the original promised date or a revised one, at dispatch or at your dock. A high score against dates the supplier moved itself is not a score at all.
Where is the product made, and where would my orders ship from?
Why ask it
Origin and dispatch point set the transit time and the freight bill before anyone quotes them. The country of manufacture can also change the duty you pay and what the label may say. Those rules differ from one market to the next, so check them with a customs broker for yours.
Which shipping terms is this quote on: who pays freight, insurance and duty, and at what point do the goods become my risk?
Why ask it
Two quotes cannot be compared until both are on the same shipping term. On imports that is usually an Incoterm, one of the standard trade terms that say where the seller's job ends: a price for goods collected at the factory gate and a price delivered to your door are different offers. The term also sets the point at which a crushed pallet becomes your loss.
How are orders packed and labelled, and can you work to my warehouse's or my customers' receiving rules?
Why ask it
Pallet heights, carton labels and barcodes sound minor until a delivery is turned away at the dock or a retailer bills you for the mistake. Send your requirements with the request for a quote, because special packing changes the price.
Which weeks of the year are you closed or at your busiest, and how far ahead should I order around them?
Why ask it
Annual shutdowns, national holidays and a peak season each stretch the lead time you were quoted in a quiet month. Some suppliers send customers their order deadlines ahead of these periods; ask to be put on that list.
On what days do you deliver to my area, and what is the cut-off for getting an order onto each run?
Why ask it
For stock goods from a wholesaler this matters more than the quoted lead time: a van twice a week with a noon cut-off sets how much you have to hold between drops. Find out too what a small top-up order costs, or whether there is an order value below which delivery is charged.
What does a rush order cost, and how fast have you actually turned one around?
Why ask it
You will need one eventually, and the day you need it is a poor day to negotiate the premium. A real example, with the number of days it took, is worth more than a yes.
How much finished stock do you keep on hand, and how much raw material behind it?
Why ask it
Stock on their shelves is what absorbs the next shortage upstream. Where everything is made strictly to order, a late delivery to them becomes a late delivery to you, and that should change how much you hold yourself.
Will you hold stock for me and ship against a schedule, and what do I commit to in return?
Why ask it
A call-off or blanket order can get you the volume price without filling your own warehouse. The catch is liability: how long will they hold finished goods, and what do you owe for anything made and never called?
If you cannot fulfil an order, how much notice would I get, and would you offer a partial shipment or an alternative?
Why ask it
Every supplier misses now and then. What differs is whether you hear three weeks ahead, with part of the order on offer, or on the day it was due. Say now that a substitute product needs your approval before it ships.
If a delivery is late, what do you do about it, and is any remedy written into your terms?
Why ask it
A supplier's own standard terms often promise nothing for lateness, so read them before assuming otherwise. A credit, paid express freight or a right to cancel can sometimes be negotiated in. What a contract can enforce depends on the law where you trade, which is a question for a lawyer there.
If goods arrive damaged in transit, how do I make a claim, and what evidence do you need from me?
Why ask it
A damage claim usually turns on proof and timing. Learn what they want, such as photos taken before unpacking or the damage noted on the carrier's delivery receipt, how many days you have to report it, and whether the answer is a credit or a replacement. Whether the claim is theirs or the carrier's to settle depends on the shipping terms you agreed.
Quality
What is your defect or rejection rate on this product, and how do you know?
Why ask it
Look for a figure tied to how it is measured: per unit or per shipment, counted at their final check or from customer returns. 'We never get rejections' usually means nobody is counting, or that customers are not reporting what they find.
Who inspects before goods leave your facility, and will you send me the inspection records with each shipment?
Why ask it
Ask what is actually checked, on how many units, and against what document. A report attached to each lot gives you something to set beside your own incoming check, and the first mismatch between the two is where to start asking.
If a shipment fails my incoming inspection, who pays for the return, the rework or replacement, and the freight?
Why ask it
Settle this before the first order, while there is no real shipment to argue over. Return freight on bulky, low-value goods can come to more than the goods are worth, so agree whether rejects go back, get reworked near you or are scrapped against a credit.
When a quality problem does get through, how do you investigate it, and what do I receive in writing?
Why ask it
A credit note fixes one shipment and nothing else. What you want is a written cause and a change to the process, so ask to see a corrective action report from a past case with the customer's name removed.
Will you tell me before you change a material, a component, a process or the site that makes my product?
Why ask it
Quiet substitution is how a product drifts away from the sample you approved, often with nobody intending harm. Ask for written notice and a fresh sample to sign off before any such change ships.
Which certifications and test reports do you hold, and can you send the certificates with their expiry dates?
Why ask it
Read the company name, the site address and the expiry date on each certificate, then check the number with the body that issued it; many will confirm one on request. If the certificate names a different company or factory, ask why. It may be a parent company, or the goods may be made somewhere you have not been told about.
What warranty do you give on the goods, and how does a claim work?
Why ask it
Pin down the length, the start date and the remedy: repair, replacement or credit. A warranty that runs from the ship date can be half used up while the goods sit in your warehouse, and your rights beyond the supplier's own promise depend on the law where you trade, so ask how it works there.
On goods with a shelf life, how much of it will be left on the day they reach me?
Why ask it
A date that suits the supplier's warehouse can leave you weeks to sell what you expected to have months for. Get a minimum remaining life written on the order, and find out whether short-dated stock is ever sent to fill a gap.
How would you handle a recall or a traceability request from me?
Why ask it
The test is whether a batch number on a carton leads back to a production date and the materials that went in, and how long that search takes. Without it, one bad batch means pulling everything they ever sent you. Recall duties differ by product and country, so check what applies to yours.
Can I visit your site, or send a third-party inspector before goods ship?
Why ask it
The answer matters even if you never go. You would be paying for the inspector, so a refusal needs a reason, and 'we don't allow visitors' deserves a second question.
Company
What do you mainly make or sell, and how much of your business is products like mine?
Why ask it
Whatever fills most of the floor tends to get the experienced staff and the first slot in the schedule. If your product is a sideline for them, expect it to wait behind the main work, and ask to see something similar they shipped recently.
If my orders doubled next year, could you keep up, and how much of your capacity is already spoken for?
Why ask it
Spare capacity is the number that counts, not total capacity. A plant already near full can fit you in during a quiet month and still squeeze you in its peak season, when your order is competing with a bigger customer's.
Roughly what share of your output goes to your largest customer?
Why ask it
High concentration cuts both ways: that customer's priorities will outrank yours, and their departure could take the supplier down. Expect a rough figure and no name. That is enough to tell a spread of customers from a business resting on one.
Where do your own critical materials come from, and do you have a second source?
Why ask it
Your supply is only as steady as theirs. Listen for a named second source they have actually bought from, because an alternative that exists only on an approved list can take a long time to switch on in a shortage.
What is your plan if your site goes down, whether from fire, flood, a broken key machine or a cyber attack?
Why ask it
Good answers are concrete: a second site, duplicate tooling, backed-up order data, an arrangement with another plant. 'It has never happened' describes luck. If your only tooling sits in that one building, their weak point is yours as well.
How long have you been trading, and will you provide financial statements or a credit reference?
Why ask it
The point is whether they will still be trading halfway through your contract, which matters most before you pay a deposit or fund tooling. A small private firm may fairly decline to share accounts, and a trade credit report is a reasonable substitute. Let the answer set how much money you put at risk.
What insurance do you carry, product liability in particular, and will you send the certificate?
Why ask it
If a product you sold hurts someone or damages property, the claim may well come to you first, particularly when your name is on the box. The certificate shows the cover exists, its limit and its expiry. What limit you need differs by product and country, so put that part to your own insurer.
How do you check working conditions and environmental practice in your own plant and among your suppliers?
Why ask it
Your customers, and in some countries the law, may hold you answerable for what happens upstream of you. A policy statement proves little. Who carried out the last audit, when, and what did it tell them to fix?
Who else are you supplying in my industry at roughly my volume?
Why ask it
A list of famous customers says little if your order would be a fraction of theirs. A customer of about your size can tell you how a small account is treated in the week a big one has a problem.
Can you give me two or three references I can call, including a customer who has had a problem with you?
Why ask it
Anyone can produce a happy customer. The call worth making is to the one whose order went wrong: ask whether they were told early, whether the fix came without a fight, and whether they still buy.
Have you lost a customer in the last year or two, and what was the reason?
Why ask it
A flat no is hard to believe from a business that has traded for more than a few years. A plain account of a price disagreement, a quality problem they went on to fix or a customer who outgrew them tells you how they behave when an account goes badly, and whether all of the blame lands on the customer.
What do you do better than the other suppliers I am talking to, and where are they stronger than you?
Why ask it
The first half gets you the sales pitch, which is still useful: it shows what they think they are selling, whether price, speed or service. The second half is the test. Someone who can name a rival's real strength usually knows their own limits, and is likelier to warn you off an order that does not suit them.
Working together
Who is my named contact, and who do I reach when something goes wrong outside their hours?
Why ask it
Get a name, a direct number, and an escalation point above them. Problems with shipments happen at inconvenient times, and a general sales address is where urgent messages go to wait.
How do I place and track an order, and what confirmation comes back to me?
Why ask it
The written confirmation, with a quantity and a date on it, is the thing you hold a supplier to. An order sitting unacknowledged in an inbox has no promised date at all, so learn how fast confirmations normally arrive and chase any that do not.
Up to what point can I cancel an order or change its quantity, and what does it cost after that?
Why ask it
There is usually a moment, often when material is bought or cut, after which the order is yours whatever happens. Knowing where that line sits lets you order early without betting everything on a forecast.
If I need to change the specification partway through a run, how is the change priced and what happens to the delivery date?
Why ask it
A supplier with a real process will stop, quote the extra cost and the new date, and wait for your written approval before carrying on. Where there is no process, the change is agreed on a phone call and the cost is explained on the invoice afterwards.
Can I send back stock that is not faulty, such as an over-order or a line that did not sell, and what would it cost me?
Why ask it
Policies run from no returns at all to a restocking fee on unopened cartons, and custom or printed goods are rarely taken back. Whichever you are dealing with, it should shape how cautious your opening quantity is.
If I send you a forecast, will you reserve material or capacity against it, and how far ahead does it need to reach?
Why ask it
Some suppliers plan around customer forecasts and some file them unread, and this tells you which you have. Check in the same breath whether a forecast binds you, since some agreements treat material bought against it as yours to pay for.
What makes a customer hard for you to supply, and what do your easiest ones do differently?
Why ask it
Few buyers ask, and the answer tends to be a frank list: constant small orders, late payment, loose specifications, endless changes. Read it as your instructions for being the customer whose order is protected when capacity is tight.
How do you handle a disputed invoice or a short shipment?
Why ask it
Short counts and pricing errors are routine, which makes the process worth more than the promise. Three things to learn: who can approve a credit, how long it takes, and whether you may hold back the disputed amount while paying the rest.
What help do I get after delivery, such as spare parts, technical support or training for my staff?
Why ask it
This matters most for equipment and for anything your own customers will ring you about. Find out whether support comes from the supplier or is passed back to the original maker, and for how many years parts for this model will be kept.
If I share drawings or specifications, what protects them, and who owns tooling I have paid for?
Why ask it
Tooling you paid for but they hold is a common way buyers get locked in, so agree in writing that you may take it elsewhere. Ask separately whether they may produce your design for anyone else. A confidentiality agreement may not cover that by itself, so have whoever reads your contracts check the wording.
Is any exclusivity on offer, by product, territory or sales channel, and what would you want in return?
Why ask it
Without it, assume the same item can be sold to your competitors and even straight to your customers. Exclusivity is normally bought with a volume commitment, so get the consequence of missing that volume stated before you sign.
How long does the agreement run, does it renew by itself, and can I read your standard terms before the first order?
Why ask it
Standard terms have a way of turning up on the back of the first invoice, after your leverage has gone. Read for liability caps, automatic renewal and whose terms win when your purchase order and their acknowledgement disagree, and take anything unclear to someone qualified to read contracts.
If either of us wants to stop, how much notice is needed, and what happens to open orders, tooling and stock?
Why ask it
The ending is cheapest to agree while both sides are still optimistic. Look for a notice period, a window for one last order, and the return of your tooling, drawings and any stock you supplied.
Qualifying and managing a supplier
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What questions to ask a supplier, and when
- On a first call with a new supplier, stay with the First call group: price, minimum, lead time, payment, samples and who makes the goods. Those answers decide whether a second conversation is worth having.
- Send the Price and Delivery questions in writing with your request for a quote. Figures given by email are easier to compare across suppliers, and easier to hold someone to, than figures given on the phone.
- Keep the Quality and Company groups for the two or three suppliers still in the running. They take time to answer properly, and some of the answers are documents.
- Settle the Working together group before the first purchase order goes out. Afterwards, their standard terms tend to apply by default.
- Not every question fits every purchase. Tooling, traceability and factory visits matter for made-to-order goods and far less for stock items from a wholesaler.
Before the first order
- 1Write a specification before you ask for a price. Dimensions, tolerances, materials, finish, packaging, labelling, and what constitutes a defect. Everything afterwards is measured against this document.
- 2Ask three suppliers for a quote on the same specification and the same Incoterm, so the numbers are actually comparable.
- 3Order samples, then order a small production run. A sample can be made by the best operator on a good day; the trial run shows what normal looks like.
- 4Verify the company independently: registration, address, and that the name on the bank account matches the name on the invoice. A request to pay a different account is a well-known sourcing fraud, so confirm any change of bank details by phone, on a number you already hold.
- 5Speak to two current customers of theirs, and ask specifically about the last thing that went wrong and how it was resolved.
Comparing quotes from potential suppliers
- A quote that arrives with no specification attached is a price for whatever that supplier assumed. Send it back with your specification, quantity and shipping term, and ask for the figure again before it goes into the comparison.
- Spread tooling and setup charges across the volume you realistically expect in the first year, and add the result to the unit price. Spread across the volume you hope for, they flatter whichever quote has the highest one-off costs.
- Add what a cheap quote may cost you later: your own inspection, rework, and the freight on replacements. The lowest unit price can be the dearest once those are counted.
- Check that the packaging quoted is packaging you can sell or ship in. Bulk-packed goods that you have to rebox are a cost the quote does not show.
- Put the same peak-season lead time question to each supplier. If one answer is far shorter than the rest, find out what it rests on before you plan around it.
- Note the currency and expiry date of each quote, so a price that has lapsed is not set against one that still stands.
Questions suppliers ask you
- How much you expect to buy in a year, and in what pattern: steady monthly orders or a few large ones. Give an honest range, because the quote is built on it.
- A specification or drawing, with tolerances, materials and finish. Without one, each supplier quotes a slightly different product.
- When you need the first delivery, and where it is going.
- Your target price. You do not have to name one, but a realistic figure lets a supplier say early that it cannot be met.
- How you intend to pay, and trade references or accounts if you want credit terms.
- Which certifications, tests or labelling your market requires.
- Who approves samples and who signs the order, so their questions reach a person able to answer them.
- Who supplies you now and why you are looking. A plain answer earns a more serious quote than a vague one.
What belongs in writing
- The specification, with tolerances and an agreed acceptable defect level, referenced by the purchase order.
- Lead time from a defined trigger, such as receipt of deposit, so nobody argues later about when the clock started.
- Price, currency, validity period, and the notice required for any change.
- The Incoterm, so responsibility for freight, insurance, duty, and risk in transit is unambiguous.
- Inspection rights, including third-party pre-shipment inspection, and what happens to a rejected lot.
- Ownership of tooling, moulds, and drawings, and your right to take them elsewhere.
- Confidentiality plus an explicit restriction on producing your design for anyone else.
- Warranty length, the date it starts from, and the remedy if goods fail within it.
- Written notice, and your approval of a new sample, before any change of material, process or manufacturing site.
- Whether sound goods can be returned, within how long, and at what restocking charge.
- How either side ends the arrangement, and what happens to work in progress and open orders.
Warning signs
- A price well below every other quote. Something has probably been left out, often the material grade or the freight.
- Reluctance to say where the goods are made, or a certificate issued to a company with a different name and no explanation for it.
- A supplier that says it is the manufacturer but cannot describe its equipment, its headcount or its capacity.
- A price that drops sharply the moment you hesitate. It suggests the first figure was padded, and the next one may be too.
- A request to pay a personal account, an account in a country the supplier has no link to, or any account other than the one on the contract. Treat a change of bank details sent by email the same way.
- Vague answers on lead time and capacity, which can mean your order will be slotted around larger customers.
- Resistance to any written agreement, or to your inspecting goods before they ship.
- Replies that come fast while they are selling and slow once a question turns technical or awkward. Send one such question before you commit and time the answer.
- Quality that is excellent on the first orders and drifts later. A good start is no reason to stop inspecting.
Once you are buying
Keep a simple scorecard
On-time delivery against the original promised date, rejection rate, and response time to a problem. Three numbers per supplier, reviewed every quarter, are enough to decide on evidence whether to renew or replace.
Qualify a second source before you need one
Run a small share of volume through an alternative supplier so the relationship is live. A second source you have never ordered from is a phone number, not a contingency.
Share forecasts, and pay on time
Capacity tends to go first to customers who are predictable and who pay. A rolling forecast, even a rough one, can earn priority that haggling will not.
Do not let inspection lapse
Reduce inspection frequency as a supplier earns it, but never to zero on a critical part. Drift tends to show up after the relationship feels settled, when nobody is looking for it.
Watch for financial distress
Requests to change payment terms, slower responses, staff turnover in your account, and part shipments arriving where full ones used to are early signs. Reduce what you have at risk, such as deposits and tooling held on their site, while you still can.
If the supplier is overseas
- Total lead time is production plus ocean or air transit plus customs clearance. Ask for each separately, not as a single figure.
- Confirm who clears the goods through customs and who pays duties and any tariffs. The Incoterm sets that between you and the supplier; who may legally act as importer depends on the customs rules where the goods land, so check with a customs broker there.
- Agree the currency and who carries exchange rate movement between order and payment.
- Check whether your product needs specific import documentation or testing in your market, and who is responsible for providing it.
- Expect a shutdown period around major national holidays in the supplier's country, and place orders well ahead of it.