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sjhall

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Ground source heat pumps, solar panels, inverters, LEDs & more.

Question for you lads in this part of the industry- do you buy off a wholesaler, or do you go direct to the manufacture.

Brief background- I've just finished wiring a large factory and part of the deal was that I got one of the units at a bargain price ( rent ) as I'm looking at opening a trade counter... I was looking at going into the plumbing / heating spares sector, but I'm still at the early stages of doing my research... And that brings me to looking into the renewables sector also ( as a product wholesalers ) .... So what are you lads buying habits if you don't mine me asking?

Many thanks

Ste
 
Depends on the product. Be aware supply especially in PV is fiercely competitive and margins are often very slim. Geographic spread of installers makes a 'trade counter' problematic. Even the national merchants supply to order in their branches, and almost always I can get cheaper from a specialist supplier.
 
We work very closely with the manufacturers and usually purchase through their preferred distributors.

The specialist ones also stock or can easily source all the specialist components. The challenge with renewables is the specialist nature and not a single stockist either on the electrical side or heating side carries what we need, so we've developed strong relationships with a couple of nationals and a range of specialists. - Net effect great prices and great service, though it can easily take 6 months to sort all those relationships out.

Not a single trade counter that could stock everything we need and compete on price. As a supplier you'll also face the problem that installers will have their chosen manufacturers. - There are some heatpumps that we won't touch for example, whereas others consider them worthwhile to install.
 
I speak from experiance - after recently setting up a trade counter/distribution (not renewable i might add) and getting supplier accounts is/can be a nightmare and hassle - and if you think you will get a 30 day account from the off think again, some do of course, but the bigger ones are more cautious.

Make sure you have a robust business plan and good cash flow otherwise you may not get over the first few hurdles.

On the flip side it can be rewarding and its a good feeling seeing your goods going out the door.

Good luck i take my hat off to anyone giving it ago.
 
buying habits would be generally only buying from companies who know what they're doing, so unfortunately from the OP I;d think that'd be a non-starter for us, unless I'm mistaken.
 

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