4 Tips for Managing Supplier Disputes

Are you a business owner currently engaged in a dispute with a supplier and looking for tips on managing supplier disputes?

Or are you concerned that a potential supplier dispute may cause issues in your business?

If so, you may be feeling some anxiety about the matter. This is perfectly normal as many businesses are heavily reliant on their suppliers, and disputes can affect their willingness or ability to, well, supply you!

This can cause damage to your business as, without the products you need, you may be unable to take customers or provide them with the quality your business usually would.

This is why it is important that you have some dispute management techniques to use in case an issue of such arises.

This article will discuss 4 ways that you can manage disputes with your business suppliers and how using these tips can help prevent serious issues from arising from such disagreements.

Need help managing supplier disputes in Queensland? Be referred to the best litigation lawyers

Managing Supplier Disputes – Understand Both Sides

One way that you can manage your disputes with any of your business suppliers is by trying to understand the point of each involved party.

It is very easy to see things in an extremely one-sided manner when a disagreement is taking place. After all, the cause of the disagreement is that you see something very different to the other party.

This, while sometimes unpreventable, can be damaging to a matter if involved in a dispute with a supplier. Nothing will arise from a dispute if both parties strictly stick to their point of view and refuse to compromise or even consider how the other party may be feeling or what their issue is.

This is why you should take some time to try to see the dispute from the side of your supplier. Say, for example, you break a payment term due to your physical inability to pay as discussed at that moment. If this is your first offence and you’ve otherwise been a loyal and respectful client, you may be a little frustrated (to say the least) if the supplier decides to take legal action.

After all, couldn’t they give you one chance to make it up?

Well, from their point of view, they may have had a history of unpaying customers or simply wish for all customers to pay as they signed up to do.

Managing Supplier Disputes – Communicate

Another way to effectively manage a dispute between your business and one of its suppliers is to make sure you are openly and consistently communicating with them.

Why you may ask? Why should we give the other party the time of day or the benefit of knowing what we are thinking or doing?

The answer to this is simple; so you get the same back. It is very valuable to your case if you have time to prepare and know what is happening and what the other party wishes to do.

Although you may, in turn, be giving them that advantage, it is still most likely better for you both to prepare than for neither of you to prepare.

Furthermore, a dispute aims to keep out of court. Going to court is expensive and time-consuming and it is, therefore, wise to solve the case outside of court if possible.

Communicating with the other party can help to do just this by allowing an element of unforced discussion and the opportunity to resolve the matter in a limited amount of time.

Managing Supplier Disputes – Negotiate

Another way to effectively manage a dispute between your business and one of its suppliers is to engage in an organised and professional negotiation.

You may be thinking, why would I be willing to negotiate with a party fighting against me? Wouldn’t I be better off taking the matter to court and potentially winning my case?

This is not necessarily true. As we know, courts are based on choices by judges or magistrates based on their interpretation of either the law or a set of rules/guidelines depending on the nature of your matter.

Even though you may be sure you are right in the matter, a judge may not necessarily agree. If you lose a matter in court, you will receive nothing from the ordeal, not to mention the poor image this shows to the public regarding your business.

Furthermore, negotiating can prevent the excess legal costs associated with court.

This is why it is wise to organise a time with your supplier to sit down with your lawyers present if you wish and discuss a potentially mutually beneficial deal.

Consider Other Dispute Resolution Techniques

Another way that you can go about managing a dispute between your business and one of your suppliers is by taking the various other dispute resolution techniques into account. There are possibilities outside of a negotiation that you can try to resolve the matter! These include:

Mediation.
Arbitration.
Conciliation.

Mediation

Mediation is another of the methods of dispute resolution that you may see fit for your matter with your supplier.

Mediation involves organising a meeting between all parties with a mediator present.

The mediator will encourage a conversation between parties and ensure that all stay calm and productive.

This can help all parties to say what they wish without the element of aggression, as well as help to bring new questions and concepts to the table.

Arbitration

Arbitration is another method that you may wish to use to help you to resolve the dispute between your business and its suppliers.

Arbitration is an extremely formal arrangement. It is conducted by specially trained lawyers that can help parties come to a decision that becomes legally binding.

Conciliation

Conciliation is another method that you may wish to use to resolve a dispute between yourself and your business’s supplier/suppliers.

This method involves a conciliator engaging the parties in a conversation in which legal knowledge or specialist information, such as the rights of the parties, may be needed.

This particular method only applies to certain matters.

Managing Supplier Disputes – Hire a Lawyer

Dispute resolution can be difficult, especially if you do not have any experience in the area.

It may be beneficial for you to hire a lawyer to help you with it! A lawyer can assist in the process of a dispute and advise you on how you should act and what you should say.

They can help ensure that your point is heard and that you get the best result out of the dispute possible.

So what are you waiting for? Hire a lawyer to help with your dispute!