How To Find the Right Supplier for Your Business — Podcasts (2022)

This episode Shopify Master is part of our collaboration series with YouTube channel Learn with Shopify. In the coming months, we will be releasing bonuses Shopify Master podcast every week, focusing on tips and trends specifically for entrepreneurs.

Finding the right supplier for your small business is not easy.

But if you ask Dan Demsky, co-founder and CEO of Unbound Merino, taking the time to establish personal relationships with his wool manufacturers has been key to his success.

“When we scale and we can’t afford our own growth, we tell [our suppliers] about that, and they gave us credit so they could help us,” Demsky said. “We have a very close relationship with our suppliers.”

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Demsky became so close to his supplier that he was invited to a family wedding halfway around the world.

“It happened in rural China,” he said. “We went to their epic wedding and they loved having us. We were very close to them and talked the whole time.”

Demsky’s company, Unbound Merino, makes clothing from merino wool. It’s a lightweight natural fiber that Demsky says is the perfect material for the avid hiker, perfect for a day of hiking that transitions to an evening cocktail at a trendy bar.

The only problem, Demsky said, was that he couldn’t find the versatile merino wool clothing he was looking for. So he started looking for a suitable production partner.

“I went through Alibaba and I looked for everyone who seemed to be able to make merino wool,” Demsky said. “And I just opened tab after tab of different providers, I had hundreds of tabs open.”

For Demsky, it’s not enough to send samples to his home or chat with potential partners online. He wanted to see something in person.

“You hear horror stories about children working in factories, which in our case is completely untrue,” he said. “We need to know where we’re manufacturing is ethical so we can sleep at night.”

Demsky’s trip to Asia to visit factories proved to be fundamental in Unbound Merino’s success becoming a 7-figure business. Demsky and his suppliers solved logistical problems during the height of the epidemic. Instead of production delays, Demsky said, he and his suppliers use deadstock fabric to create limited-edition pieces that keep business going.

“We buy stuff that’s just in the factory and have all these great new things to talk about with our customers,” Demsky said. “We have limited edition colors or [a limited] number of pieces. The stuff sold out in two days, and it was like a little event.”

To hear more about how the Unbound Merino team found the right suppliers, run a successful crowdfunding campaign and other tips for your business, listen to Demsky’s full interview as part of our Learn with Shopify series.

source: https://www.shopify.co.id/blog/unbound-merino-suppliers