Great news! You secured yourself an event! Now, what do you do about getting organized? You have all your other things worked out. You know how to execute the event BUT what about your suppliers and vendors?
There are so many items to consider before sourcing and selecting your suppliers and vendors. Among some of the issues are budget constraint, style, specialized items and your setup crew. Yes the last item falls in the same category as your vendors!
Make your basic list
Make a list of what you require to organize the event. There are normally a few staples such as food and beverage, stationary, sound system etc. If you have planned events before, you will probably have an existing list.If you are just starting out then you would have to search for your vendors from a few sources. This could be by recommendation or looking up the local yellow pages and the internet. It is a good practice and tip if you could get some of your vendors in place before you even have an event. This cuts down time sourcing when you have a dateline to your event.
Part of managing your suppliers and vendors list is the pricing and quotations. Keeping these up to date can be complicated and tedious. As in everythingelse, the bottomline of any business is the cost and profit or loss. Aside from this, a required skill is in negotiating. Therefore, sometimes it is more prudent if you have considered the option of acquiring an event management system to aid you in your event planning and sourcing needs.
Getting organized
Some of the best sources for acquiring a vendors list is on the internet. Most companies now have a website and email where it is easy to get in touch with them. Plus it saves you time running around. Seek out an event management software that can help you keep your vendors list organized and updated. It would be all the better if the application is extremely mobile and can be accessed with a handheld unit. This makes sense as you can update easily and efficiently while on the go!
Here are some ideas on organizing and sourcing a vendors list.
- Decide and list the different types of vendors and suppliers. For example caterers, props and setup, florists, printers etc.
- For each vendor, list in detail what they would be supplying. List also their current prices. Valid duration of their pricing and delivery times. Do not forget their terms and conditions as well to avoid any misunderstanding.
- Sometimes it is better if you have recommendations for suppliers as you would be better informed about their reliability and services. Lacking of which you may have to look through the handy local yellow pages!
- Surfing the internet for suppliers and vendors is an easy enough task. The crucial deciding factor on reliability of their services would rely on the testimonials and reputation of the company.
- Once you have all these informaation in hand, use the advantages of readily available event solution like event mangement system to keep a good contact list with all the details.In fact you could even upload the details while you are doing your inquiries, doing away with all the messy notepads and sticky notes!
Your vendors and suppliers are as much a crucial component of event management. Negotiating, sourcing and handling the minute details of cost management will make all the difference between a profit and a loss at the end of the day. Event Malaysia organizers can benefit from the many event softwares available in the market and the good infrastructure of the internet and mobile telco industries are services that they can leverage on.
