Relationship building is key to finding vendors

The buyer for Temple Coffee, a Sacramento-based roaster with three coffee houses in town, travels the world to meet with coffee producers and find the best-tasting beans.

And while most small businesses don’t go to Africa for their supplies, Temple Coffee owner Sean Kohmescher said the strategy for choosing vendors should be the same no matter where they’re located. Meeting with suppliers face-to-face and seeing their operation is the best way to ensure a good fit.

“We do business with people we like,” Kohmescher said. “Price point is not important; quality is.”

What’s most critical in choosing a vendor will vary depending on the type of business, the demands of its customers, and in some cases, the social or environmental consciousness of its owners. And as is the case with Temple Coffee, price is often not the deciding factor.

When one of TC Printing’s major clients began ordering textbooks, it started a long process of searching for a vendor that could do the job right.

TC Printing tried various West Coast book manufacturers, but the bindings on the books soon fell apart. Eventually it turned to a Midwest company, RR Donnelley, whose product met the client’s expectations for durability, according to TC Printing owner Jon Harris.

But for the most part, Harris prefers to support other small businesses and work with local vendors whenever possible. In addition to supporting the community, he said, it also makes it easier to communicate.

“We make it a priority to not only give back to the community we work in, but also partner up with vendors and suppliers that have the same philosophy we do,” Harris said.