What to Ask a Manufacturer Before Your First Order

The trade show conversation is optimistic by design. Everyone is friendly, the samples are good, and the awkward questions feel rude.

Ask them anyway. A supplier who is annoyed by due diligence is telling you something.

Who actually makes it

1. Do you manufacture this yourself, or is it made for you?
2. Where, physically? An address, not a city.
3. Is it Certified Australian Made, or Australian Owned? Different claims entirely.
4. What's the claim basis, in writing?

The first question sorts manufacturers from brand owners from distributors. It matters because it decides how many links sit between your purchase order and someone who can actually make more when you run out.

What you can say about it

1. Are the on-pack claims cosmetic or therapeutic?
2. If therapeutic, what's the AUST L or AUST R number?
3. Does your marketing copy match your label? Ask to see the shelf talkers and social assets.
4. Who's liable if a claim is challenged?

Question 7 catches more suppliers than any other. The label is usually compliant; the sales deck often isn't, and the sales deck is what ends up in your shop.

What it really costs

1. MOQ on the first order — and on reorders? These differ more often than not.
2. Units per carton, per SKU?
3. What's freight, and who pays it?
4. Payment terms. Prepay, 30 days, something else.
5. Price hold — how long is this price list valid?
6. What's the RRP, and do you enforce it?

Nine and fourteen are the two that most often cause a problem later.

When something goes wrong

1. Reorder lead time, and what was it last December? The peak number is the real number.
2. Shelf life, and what date code will I actually receive?
3. Policy on damaged, faulty or short-dated stock?
4. Who do I call? A name, not a general inbox.

Sixteen matters more than people think. A twelve-month shelf life is not twelve months if you're shipped stock with four months left on it.

Will I be competing with you

1. Do you sell direct, and at what price?
2. What's your marketplace policy, and do you enforce it?

This is the question buyers most often skip and most often regret. A supplier who sells the same product direct at your retail price, or lets it sit on a marketplace at below your cost, has handed you a problem you can't merchandise your way out of.

The good answer isn't "we don't sell direct" — plenty of brands do, and a brand with its own consumer marketing is usually worth stocking. The good answer is that their direct price supports your retail price, and that they police third-party listings.

The three answers that should worry you

• "We'll sort that out later." On price, on terms, on claims. Later means never or means their terms.
• A therapeutic claim with no ARTG number. Either they don't know the rules or they're ignoring them. Both are your problem once it's on your shelf.
• Vagueness about where it's made. A manufacturer proud of their facility will tell you where it is.

What good looks like

Suppliers worth keeping tend to answer all twenty without hesitating, send the documentation without being chased, and volunteer the reorder minimum before you ask.

None of that shows up on a price list, and all of it shows up in year two.

OGA's wholesale pack answers most of this before the conversation starts — manufacturing, claim basis per product, opening and reorder minimums, carton quantities, lead times and RRP.

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