Distributor cancelled an order and we need to move 30k bags of coffee [updated]

Post by arpinum » Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 6:51 PM UTC

buu709 wrote: post #111

asah wrote: post #21

It's 101 that wholesale buyers order by the case and for producers to specify the casecount and price, and for errors like this to be caught when the prices/etc don't line up. This is equivalent to not knowing that URLs can redirect, or that http:// and https:// aren't the same thing. Distributors work with 1000 brands each and don't have time (or margin) to babysit. Also, when a company gets a much larger and differ…

I work in wholesale, but a different industry (electrical) and this is 100% wrong from my experience. Varies from business to business but often times our POs go out for single units rather than cases. It's actually a huge headache for us as we can't get the team responsible to keep our ERP system up to date on which units to use for which lines.

Post by mbesto » Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 6:52 PM UTC

jjeaff wrote: post #24

georgeburdell wrote: post #3

One thing that irks me about dealing with big businesses, that the post touches on, is payment terms. If I buy an item, I pay for it immediately (or if it’s large enough, a creditor pays for me). Big companies pay with IOUs that say they’ll give you cash later, say 30-90 days from now or after criterion X is fulfilled. They do not care if you’re a small company with poor liquidity. I think it’s absolutely abusive beh…

I remember in a corporate finance class in college, we did a lot of calculations comparing prepayment to net 30, net 90 terms, etc. The game is to maximize cash flow, though in the end, it doesn't make a lot of difference except in very thin margin businesses. But the general wisdom is to always try to take maximum advantage. I always felt that it is a silly strategy considering that it strains your suppliers, provid…

Post by reillyse » Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 6:53 PM UTC

interactivecode wrote: post #84

jjeaff wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember in a corporate finance class in college, we did a lot of calculations comparing prepayment to net 30, net 90 terms, etc. The game is to maximize cash flow, though in the end, it doesn't make a lot of difference except in very thin margin businesses. But the general wisdom is to always try to take maximum advantage. I always felt that it is a silly strategy considering that it strains your suppliers, provid…

I would love it if the EU or government would enforce equal payment terms for whole company. Lets say a shop wants to have a net 30 terms with their suppliers, then they should also offer net 30 terms for their customers. This would equalize power dynamics. The large corp shouldn’t be allowed to demand immediate payment on one side and then just significantly delay payments on the other side.

Post by halkony » Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 6:54 PM UTC

seneca wrote: post #66

spcebar wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The distributer said, "actually we don't need this much, so either take back this enormous amount of coffee that we know you can't handle or give it to us for free and you can "write it off on taxes," which leaves the coffee company screwed on their loans. When the coffee company says they want to take it back, the big company tries to make them pay an enormous fee. The grift, as I understand it, is in the distributo…

Those options were explicitly laid out in the contract they signed, they even say that in the blog post. It's not a grift if they tell you up front exactly what will happen.

Post by garyfirestorm » Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 6:56 PM UTC