Open Letter to Moulding Suppliers (who ship)

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cjmst3k

cjmst3k

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Apr 25, 2006
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We're trying to sell your products. Please HELP us do that.

We're making you money. Please HELP us do that too.


The moulding travels safely from your overseas manufacturer to your warehouse.

From Italy: 4,200 miles
From China: 8,000 miles.

It's a shame that the moulding can't make it the last short distance, from your warehouse to my store without getting completely messed up, simply due to a lack of $2 worth of packing materials and 5 minutes more spent per full box of moulding.

I often ask "please bubblewrap each moulding" to be added to my order, just to see the exact opposite done. I'd even be happy paying a few bucks extra for packaging to be done correctly, but this service isn't offered.

Result?
-Lost time on our end.
-Extra labor on your end
-Supplier paying for replacement moulding and shipping at their cost.
-Supplier paying for return shipping of what is now garbage.
-Possible upset customer from a needless delay

Who does this lack of packaging benefit?
-No one.


Sorry for the rant, but it has to be said.
 
And on a similar note, for those of us ordering chop who like to recycle and reuse packing materials, please use masking (or other) tape which removes cleanly from the white puffy wrap. It's quicker to unwrap, and it lets us reuse all the material rather than having to discard half of it with unsightly tape all over it. Thank you to the suppliers who already do this.
:cool: Rick

P.S. It might even be cheaper than the brand you are currently using.
 
Two former suppliers, both of them well known, lost my business because out of every box of moulding they shipped, about half of the sticks were abraded, scratched, or dented during shipment.

You're right -- a few minutes work and a couple of dollars' worth of packing material is all that is needed to protect a box of moulding in shipment. Kudos to the many suppliers who reailize that, and package their moulding properly.
 
This is exactly the rant I wanted to post. I've been going through some major problems with two vendors over the last 3 months. I'm about to open shipment number three (second replacement attempt) from one of them and I'm afraid to open the boxes.
 
I am sure you have tried this..but my approach has been to voice my concern strongly with the sales rep. The sales rep had a more personal concern with your disatisfaction, because your business means dollars in his or her paycheck. This usually does the trick. I recently found a supplier that delivers via their own delivery trucks. I place my order on Monday, the supplies show up on Tuesday. I have a table set up for the driver to place the supplies. The mouldings are always without blemish. I also get great customer service, and if I pay the bill within 7 days, I get a 2% discount. Payment terms can have cost impact. It is supplier Nirvana!
 
I'm with you Chris. The condition of the box mouldings I've been ordering have been getting worse.

On the other hand, can anyone recomend suppliers whose shipments are received in good condition?
 
I stopped buying by the box from one of my suppliers because the boxes were so poorly made that they were always busted apart by the time they reached me. This moulding was almost always available on their extreme discounts for 50 ft minimums at a prices comparable to their box prices so I would buy length.

The boxes they used when they shipped length were of a higher quality.

On one order I placed, the amount I wanted was a little less than box quantity. The phone sales rep wanted me to buy a box. I told her absolutely no and explained why.

What do I get? I get a box where they removed the 60 feet or so from a full box, taped it back up and shipped me the box without any packing in the void. Or course there was even more damage than before.

I was getting very unhappy anyway with the quality of the moulding itself (a flat mat black 1 1/4"). That was the final straw. I now get this moulding from a different supplier and the first one lost about a box a month of this moulding from me. I have also switched some of my others from this supplier and now only offer a couple of mouldings that I can't get elsewhere. The total they lost is an average of about 3 boxes of moulding a month.

Poor packaging has cost this supplier most of my business.
 
Just watch out for those drivers........sometimes a few hundred feet of moulding will be in perfect shape....... till the driver drags them across the metal floor of the truck as he's unloading them.

Or even worse, slides them down a metal staircase.....:o

But again, many suppliers will skimp on the packaging of expensive glass or Plexi for example. An extra sheet of cardboard could save everybody headaches and lots of money.
 
Of all the suppliers we deal with, Roma has the best packaging. Even if you tell them to ship you a 8' stick of moulding that cost around 20 bucks, they'll use about 10 dollars worth of packing material to ship it.
 
Larry Peterson said:
I get a box where they removed the 60 feet or so from a full box, taped it back up and shipped me the box without any packing in the void.
Click to expand...

I buy almost exclusively by-the-box. The trick is to fax them a PO with "FULL BOXES ONLY" specified.

I arrange the shipping from my end so I specify "CALL WITH SIZE AND WEIGHT" on the PO. This usually gives me a chance to talk to the guys who actually pulled the boxes, and we talk about how the pallets are attached and about checking for any box ends that got dragged and need to be taped up again. Works pretty well if I talk the right talk. Because of this I know some of my suppliers' warehouse guys by name and I think they handle my stuff a little better for it.
 
more_so said:
I buy almost exclusively by-the-box. The trick is to fax them a PO with "FULL BOXES ONLY" specified.

I arrange the shipping from my end so I specify "CALL WITH SIZE AND WEIGHT" on the PO. This usually gives me a chance to talk to the guys who actually pulled the boxes, and we talk about how the pallets are attached and about checking for any box ends that got dragged and need to be taped up again. Works pretty well if I talk the right talk. Because of this I know some of my suppliers' warehouse guys by name and I think they handle my stuff a little better for it.
Click to expand...

While I applaud the effort you put into avoiding issues, it just illustrates how poorly some suppliers operate that you have to find ways of working around their inadequately controlled processes.

Product should be delivered in perfect condition every time without need for intervention.
 
I agree, Roma packs very well, and they do not use bubble wrap. They use shredded newspaper, and while it is a pain to clean up, I don't think I've ever had a problem with moulding damaged in transit.

Nurre Caxton, on the other hand, uses bubble wrap, and on several occasions the stick of moulding (thin mouldings) has broken in half.
 
PaulSF said:
I agree, Roma packs very well, and they do not use bubble wrap. They use shredded newspaper, and while it is a pain to clean up, I don't think I've ever had a problem with moulding damaged in transit.

Nurre Caxton, on the other hand, uses bubble wrap, and on several occasions the stick of moulding (thin mouldings) has broken in half.
Click to expand...

Or 1/3 unusable, which is what spawned my post.

I love Nurre's products. I've been happy with their customer service. But when I'm shipping $600 worth of moulding (which isn't a ton, but isn't a small amount either) it would be nice to be able to finish more than 2 frames.
 
more_so said:
I buy almost exclusively by-the-box. The trick is to fax them a PO with "FULL BOXES ONLY" specified..
Click to expand...

The problem is that I didn't want their full boxes. The boxes that the moulding comes in from overseas is the cheapest Asian cardboard made and gets destroyed by the trucking companies. I doubt that this cardboard is even 120lb. I never got a shipment by the box from this place that didn't have at least 10-20% of the moulding damaged.

The boxes that they use locally to ship length is a domestic 275lb cardboard that is sufficient for shipping and the moulding always arrived in good shape.
 
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