Distribution

Product selection: what does the veterinary distributor do for their clients?

4 minutes
Chien nourriture
By CDMV
Published on June 16, 2021

In the veterinary community, it’s important to invest in products that help professionals and pet owners provide the best possible care for their furry friends.

Supply is sort of like “the art of trying to meet everyone’s needs, while making rational and responsible decisions.” And it’s no small feat!

As a distributor, choosing suitable products to meet clients’ needs isn’t a trivial responsibility. When faced with a plentiful offering, we need to implement rigorous selection processes in order to figure out which items will meet the needs of our clientele.

At CDMV, a product specialist drives the selection process. In addition to constantly staying up to date on new trends and finding the best products, she organizes requests from clients and suggestions from manufacturers, and then analyses them according to specific criteria.

 

Products that are the right fit for our clients

We make sure that products are chosen based on well-established standards:

  • compliance with regulations on new products, in particular those from Health Canada
  • clear identification
  • bilingual packaging
  • product quality
  • relevance to clients, etc.

We also favour products that are registered for use in animals rather than humans.

A new product committee was established in April 2019, to apply an efficient process to the selection of the best manufacturers and products. All of our departments are represented on the committee, so we can take the pulse of each one from a different angle. We discuss all aspects of a product, including its cost-effectiveness, relevance, amount of related information, etc., in order to pinpoint new trends and items that will meet client expectations.

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Criteria for choosing manufacturers

We regularly meet with new suppliers, including some who are very progressive, in order to routinely provide new and innovative products. Naturally, we take into account the manufacturer’s experience and “roadmap.” We are proud to work with partners that offer high‑quality products and are a strong link in the veterinary chain.

 

Product management

Seasonal items and collections are changed on a regular basis. We really take our clients’ interest into consideration! That’s why, if a product generates few single sales, it’s likely to be removed from our offering, making room for new items. We aim to ultimately offer a wide variety of choices that will please everyone, but without flooding clients with an endless selection that will make their buying process a nuisance.

In order to plan thoroughly and manage inventory turnover well, we have high‑performance software that can generate orders before there are any back orders. We also typically avoid having only one source of popular products, so we can suggest alternatives when there is a back order.

At CDMV, we stand behind the product lines we choose and are committed to delivering the best products into the hands of veterinary teams. In turn, our clients are able to provide the high‑quality care and products that will best support their own clients—and their patients, of course!