Mismatches between your company's needs and a supplier's offerings can add costs, cause delays, and even damage your organization's reputation – what if, for example, the equipment provided is sub-standard and your name is directly linked to it?

Enter the Ultimate Supplier Checklist – your guide to making great supplier choices and building solid business relationships:

1. Competency

Firstly, how competent is the supplier? You need to start by evaluating their capabilities against your needs, confirm that they can indeed deliver what they promise, and then, go one further - what are their customers saying?

Phonatics, for instance, is one of South Africa's leading suppliers of telecommunication peripheral products since 2000; we are proudly the trusted name in affordable high-quality equipment with excellent service to match. And coupled with our 15 years of industry-leading experience, we have garnered our fair share of client appreciation for great service and great follow-through:

"We have always recommended your product, it is truly value for money… I have been in the industry for more than 20 years and know when something is worth it." – Ronnie Govender, Director (TelkomSA)

"It is a pleasure dealing with Phonatics." – Johann, IT

"We always get top priority support…" – B Banda, Admin

"… good company, great attitude…" Justin, Manager

Operating out of our two main business hubs, each centrally located in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, we are able to effectively service the entire of SA and up into Africa, with country-wide delivery.

2. Capacity

A supplier needs to have enough capacity to handle your company's requirements. How quickly will it be able to respond to these, and to other market and supply fluctuations?

From niche markets to huge corporates, Phonatics' client base is testament to our flexibility in delivering world-class service.

As proud suppliers of the world's leading headset brands from Jabra to Sennheiser to Freemate™ – Phonatics has the capacity to provide world-class communication solutions to suit both broad-range and specialized organizational needs.

Freemate, as one of the most popular call centre headset brands available today, supports more than 24 different headset models, with bonus features of this particular range including a two-year warranty and guarantee, rental plans (from 12-36 months); SLA packages tailored to client needs and readily available comprehensive maintenance kits.

3. Commitment

The supplier needs to provide evidence that it's committed to high quality standards.

Phonatics is dedicated to both customer service and product excellence. For example, as sole distributors of the Freemate™ product range, Phonatics proactively imports spares with all Freemate™ orders shipped thus ensuring optimal stock on hand of replacement parts. This forward planning keeps repair costs down and future-proofs client repair needs. A ‘value-add' that our customers clearly appreciate with over 90%* of consumers opting for Freemate headsets. *Phonatics Survey: June 2014 – Headset Repair or Replace.

4. Control

How much control does the supplier has over its policies, processes, procedures, and supply chain?

We believe in flexibility when it comes to client needs where packages are tailored for best fit, best solution and the best price of the latest technology and innovation that industry has to offer, including rental plans and maintenance kits. Professional advice and excellent after-sales support comes standard.

All Phonatics products are supported and maintained by our specialist in-house Service and Repair Centres. Our two technical teams, Gauteng and Cape Town, are led by expert technicians with extensive experience in the industry, and all technicians are Certified Video Conferencing Engineers.

With a commitment to a 48hr turn-around-time on repairs, 97%* of our clients highly recommend the Phonatics Repair Centre (*Client Survey: June 2014).

Accurate tracking of Phonatics products further enhances customer satisfaction, as a unique bar code is issued for each product, allowing the repair centres to determine the date of purchase and relevant warranty periods for each unit. Free scanner and tracking software is on offer to large call centres to track assets on this system.

5. Culture

Phonatics is passionate about creating an ergonomic and comfortable working environment that supports our clients in the simplification of daily tasks. This translates directly into increased productivity and enhanced service delivery for you.

We believe in client support every step of the way and through our range of forward-thinking product lines that are comprehensive, adaptable and budget appropriate, our customers' confidence in Phonatics is evident.

‘Putting our clients first is what we do best.'

Phonatics is a Level 3 BEE contributor with a strong CSR culture who is actively involved in its communities through charitable organizations such as the SAVF Social Services, CANSA SA, Red Cross Society, Heart of Healing and the Oeboentoe Children's Home.

"Phonatics is here for the long haul," says Pieter Snyman, Phonatics MD, "where building client relationships and providing strong product choices is what we strive for."

For all your Headset and Call Centre related needs as well as more information on our extensive Telecommunication product range, Speak to Phonatics

Sources: ‘Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management' Carter, R.