What to Look for in a Plant Tour
Taking a tour of a supplier’s facilities can be one of the best ways to evaluate a prospective supplier or to get better acquainted with a current supplier’s operation. Here’s my top list of what to look for:

01. Cleanliness: Cleanliness in a plant is important not only because it speaks to how organized the company is, but it can directly impact the quality of your job. For instance, if there are a lot of paper scraps lying around the floor, it increases the paper dust in the air. This dust gets on the press and can cause hickeys, which are donut-shaped spots or imperfections in the printing.

02. Organized Tour: Is the plant tour organized? Does it appear that the supplier is used to having customers in the plant? How do the employees react to your presence? Do they seem surprised to see a customer or do they seem comfortable? This may give you an indication of how this supplier may work with you in the future. If you are a buyer who likes to be involved with your jobs, choose a supplier who makes you feel welcome.

03. Introductions to Key People: Are you introduced to key people in the organization, for instance, the sales manager, owner, pressman, and customer service manager? That may indicate how important the supplier believes your business to be.

04. Quality Assurance: One of the best things to evaluate during a plant tour is the supplier’s quality control procedures. It’s important to find out the specifics of how they ensure your job will be completed accurately. Ask lots of questions.

05. Interaction of Staff: How well does the staff interact together? Is there palpable tension between individuals or departments? Or do they seem to get along well? Although this judgment may be more intuitive, it’s an important clue as to how effectively they might communicate about your job and your company.

06. Equipment: It’s not necessary for a supplier to have “cutting-edge technology” or equipment. But it is important to consider their versatility and capacity, and whether they have a back up if a critical piece of equipment goes down.

07. Compatibility: Does the company appear to be a good match for the types of products and services that you buy?

08. Longevity: How long have they been in business? What is the recent history of the management staff?

09. Shipping/Receiving: How flexible are they about receiving materials from other suppliers? Are there limits to when they can receive shipments? Are they well staffed for deliveries?

10. Inventory/Warehousing: Do they have the capacity to store your finished materials? Do they have an acceptable paper inventory?

Written by Suzanne Morgan and brought to you by Print Buyers Online, an educational e-community for print specifiers and their suppliers.