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FAQ

How do you shorten the lead time when selecting a new supplier?

The fastest way to shorten lead times when selecting a new supplier is to set clear criteria upfront, use a structured information request, and check volume and documentation early. Starting supplier selection without preparation wastes weeks on comparisons that turn out to be irrelevant. The questions below walk you through the process step by step.

What are the biggest time wasters in supplier selection?

The biggest time wasters in supplier selection are unclear criteria, incomplete information requests, and requesting documentation too late. Many buyers start with a broad search before they have a clear picture of what they need. They end up comparing suppliers on points that don’t matter in the end. That costs weeks.

In practice, we see three pitfalls come up again and again:

  • No knockout criteria set upfront — without hard minimum requirements, you end up evaluating dozens of suppliers who were never a real option.
  • Too much internal alignment happening too late — if quality, logistics, and finance only join the conversation at the end, the process starts over.
  • Reactive documentation requests — certificates, specifications, and food safety declarations are only requested once the decision is almost made, causing delays of days or even weeks.

A buyer who knows what they’re looking for before they start cuts supplier selection lead times in half. Preparation isn’t a luxury — it’s the core of the process.

What criteria should you set upfront to select faster?

At a minimum, set these upfront: technical product specifications, minimum order volumes, required certifications, lead times, and price range. These are the hard criteria you can filter on quickly. Suppliers who don’t meet them are out immediately — no further evaluation needed.

For buyers in the food industry, there are a few additional criteria you’ll want to check early in the process:

  • Technical product properties — think melting behavior, fat content, dry matter percentage, and shelf life. These determine whether a product will actually work in your production line.
  • Batch-to-batch consistency — ask about tolerances per specification and how the supplier manages quality control.
  • Flexibility in packaging and format — for product developers testing new concepts, custom options are essential.
  • Private label options — if you want to sell under your own brand, the supplier needs to be able to support that on a structural basis.

Having these criteria on paper before your first supplier contact means you won’t waste time on suppliers who don’t fit on any one of these points.

How does a structured RFI or RFQ speed up the process?

A structured RFI (Request for Information) or RFQ (Request for Quotation) speeds up selection because you’re asking every supplier the same questions, which makes direct comparison possible. Without a standard format, you get twelve different answers in twelve different formats — and you spend your time interpreting instead of deciding.

A solid RFI for the food industry includes at least:

  1. Product description with minimum technical requirements
  2. Required volumes per period and flexibility around those volumes
  3. Desired lead times and delivery frequency
  4. Required certifications and food safety standards
  5. Request for references from comparable customers
  6. Question about private label or custom options

Add an RFQ once you’ve built your shortlist based on the RFI. That’s where you ask for concrete pricing based on your specific volumes and specifications. By keeping these two steps separate, you keep the first round manageable and avoid requesting detailed quotes from suppliers who are already out on technical grounds.

When is a trial delivery or sample required?

A trial delivery or sample is required whenever the product directly affects your end product, production line, or brand experience. In the food industry, that’s almost always the case. Taste, texture, melting behavior, and appearance may look good on paper but still fall short in practice.

Plan a trial delivery when:

  • Ingredients serve a technical function, such as cheese in a heated product
  • Batch-to-batch consistency is critical to your production process
  • You’re working with a new supplier you have no experience with, regardless of their reputation
  • You’re developing products where flavor combinations or texture need to be validated

A sample is not a substitute for a trial delivery at production scale. Samples are great for initial selection and taste evaluation, but a trial delivery also tests logistics, packaging, shelf life, and consistency across multiple units. Plan both as separate steps.

What documentation should a supplier be able to provide right away?

A serious supplier can provide the following documentation on request without delay: current certifications, product specification sheets, allergen declarations, and an overview of their quality assurance practices. A supplier who takes weeks to deliver these is probably not set up for professional industry partnerships.

At a first introduction, always ask for:

  • Certifications — such as BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000, or other relevant food safety standards
  • Product specifications — including fat content, moisture content, pH, microbiological standards, and shelf life
  • Allergen declaration — covering both present allergens and potential cross-contamination
  • Origin declaration — for traceability of raw materials, especially relevant for clean-label products
  • Quality reports — recent test results showing that specifications are consistently met

Suppliers who struggle to provide these documents quickly are sending a signal about how their internal organization runs. Documentation that arrives quickly and completely is itself a quality indicator.

How do you recognize a supplier that can handle industrial volumes?

A supplier that can handle industrial volumes demonstrates this through production capacity, logistics infrastructure, references from comparable customers, and proven quality assurance at scale. Stories about artisanal craft and tradition have value, but they need to be backed up by concrete facts about capacity and delivery reliability.

Look for these specific signals:

  • The supplier already delivers to multiple industrial customers at comparable volumes
  • There is a clear structure for order confirmation, planning, and complaint handling
  • Production is certified to a standard that aligns with your own requirements
  • The supplier can handle fluctuations in order volume without compromising quality
  • There is a dedicated point of contact for both commercial and technical questions

Always ask for references from customers in a similar sector and at similar volumes. A supplier who can’t provide these probably hasn’t proven they can deliver at scale. Also ask how they handle peak demand or production disruptions — that’s where reliability really shows.

How DeJong Cheese helps speed up your supplier selection

At DeJong Cheese, we understand that time is valuable in the purchasing process. As a family business with years of experience in goat cheese specialties under the Alphenaer brand, we have been supplying retail, foodservice, and industrial customers worldwide for many years. We are set up for professional partnerships and help you keep the selection process as short and efficient as possible. Here’s what we offer:

  • Documentation available right away — we provide certifications, product specifications, and allergen declarations quickly and completely
  • Custom samples and trial deliveries — for both technical validation and taste evaluation in your specific application
  • Custom formats and packaging — for both retail applications and industrial production
  • Private label options — for product developers who want to build their own concepts
  • A dedicated point of contact — personal contact with short lines of communication, so you get fast answers to technical and commercial questions
  • Proven delivery reliability at volume — with references from foodservice partners and industrial customers

Want to know if our goat cheese specialties are a good fit for your production line or concept? Get in touch with us and we’ll think along with you right away.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many suppliers should I invite for an RFI round?

For an efficient RFI round, a longlist of five to ten suppliers is usually enough. More than ten makes comparison unwieldy and takes up a disproportionate amount of time; fewer than five increases the risk of missing the best option. Use your knockout criteria to quickly narrow the longlist down to a shortlist of two to four suppliers for the RFQ phase.

What should I do if a supplier meets all criteria but the price is too high?

First check whether the price comparison is fair: are you comparing the same volumes, specifications, and service terms? Higher prices are sometimes justified by better quality assurance, shorter lead times, or more flexible packaging options that would cost extra elsewhere. If the price is still too high after a fair comparison, you can negotiate based on order volume, contract length, or packaging format — but never accept a compromise on quality or documentation just to bring the price down.

How do I involve internal stakeholders early enough without slowing down the process?

Before your first supplier contacts, hold a short alignment session with quality, logistics, and finance to agree on knockout criteria and weighting factors together. This prevents these teams from introducing their own requirements later in the process, which can restart the entire selection. A shared evaluation form that everyone fills out in parallel after the RFI round also saves a lot of meeting time.

What are common mistakes when evaluating a trial delivery?

The most common mistake is evaluating a sample only on taste or appearance, without testing technical performance in your own production line. Always evaluate a trial delivery under the conditions in which the product will actually be processed — such as heating, mixing, or extended storage. Set the evaluation criteria in writing upfront so the assessment is objective and repeatable, and involve both production staff and the product developer in the evaluation.

How quickly should a reliable supplier respond to an information request?

A professionally organized supplier responds to an initial information request within one to two business days with a confirmation and a realistic timeline for full documentation. Basic documents such as certifications and product specifications should be available within five business days. Longer response times without a clear explanation are a signal that the internal organization is not set up for efficient B2B collaboration.

When does it make sense to contract multiple suppliers at the same time?

Dual sourcing — contracting two suppliers for the same product — makes sense when you have high production dependency, limited raw material availability, or when supply security matters more than cost savings. This is especially relevant for ingredients that are critical to your production line and where a supply interruption would immediately cause production downtime. Weigh the higher administrative and coordination burden against the risk you’re covering, and set minimum purchase commitments with both suppliers to keep the relationship viable.

How do I evaluate a supplier after the first contract period to decide on renewal?

Evaluate a supplier after the first contract period on at least four dimensions: delivery reliability (was delivery on time and complete?), quality consistency (did specifications stay within agreed tolerances?), communication and problem-solving (how were complaints or deviations handled?), and documentation management (were certifications and reports always up to date and available quickly?). Schedule a formal evaluation three to four weeks before the contract expires so there is enough time for renegotiation or starting a new selection process.

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