In a perfect world, your company would continually have enough inventory on hand to fill all of your customer orders and ship them on time. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case in the real world. 

A blanket sales order is a type of master order that contains specific quantities for certain inventory items at pre-determined prices that the customer can draw against over a set period of time. There are several ways using blanket sales orders can create a symbiotic relationship between Businesses and their customers.

The concept of ‘mass customization’ is a fact of life in distribution and manufacturing businesses. To satisfy customer expectations, companies must be able to produce small quantities (i.e., ONE unit) of specifically configured or designed product to a large volume of customers - and they must do this in a competitively short lead time. 

Have you tried to buy a pair of running shoes lately? The first thing you may discover is that you are not even at the right store. That’s how specialized our economy has become. Go to a store that caters to a different type of customer and you’ll wind up with a poor fit and limited choices.

A blanket purchase order is a long-term agreement between a company and its suppliers. While a regular purchase order is used for a one-time purchase, a blanket purchase order contains multiple delivery dates over a period of time.

A well managed cash flow is conducive to the success of any business. You can sell product all day long, but if you can’t collect payment for that product in a timely manner, you may have to rely on other sources of cash to fund your business – which can be expensive and inevitably cut into your profits. 

When you’re looking to buy something for yourself or a loved one, there are three things to be considered: quality, price, and accessibility. This should be no different when it comes to purchasing materials for your company.