Why buy local?

If you own a coffee shop in Kamloops or a deli in Kelowna, you may wonder about the advantages of buying your vacuum sealed bags or 12oz coffee cups from a local supplier. What advantages does a smaller supplier have over those with a bigger footprint? Here are a couple of reasons why a local supplier such as Stemel Supply Inc might be a better option for your Thompson Okanagan business.

1) Competitive pricing: Many Kamloops restaurant owners think that bigger businesses offer better pricing on consumables, but this is not the case. I was recently in a Kamloops quick serve restaurant for a quote, and was a bit shocked to see that the garbage bags they were purchasing from their food supplier were priced three times higher than what we offer. Bigger companies have more purchasing power, but that advantage is more than offset by their overheads as well as the need to exponentially increase sales each year in order to please shareholders.

2) Personal attention. A pub in Kamloops looking for napkins simply doesn't receive the same care from bigger Vancouver based suppliers because volume is the name of the game for those suppliers. Chain accounts are their focus and the chains are who will be served first when it comes to supplies. 

3) Quick turnaround. Every business experiences situations where they need supplies as soon as possible. A Kamloops coffee shop may suddenly realize they forgot to order take out lids. If you're using a big supplier, this means you will have to follow their schedule. This also means those supplies are going to cost you a lot more than they should, as a delivery fee will be applied.

4) Local supplier, local customer. As with any local business, using a local supplier means supporting your own customer base.