How to Choose the Perfect Chemical Supplier for Your Business

The economy could not function without chemical suppliers. Individuals and businesses alike need them to provide cleaning solutions, while almost every manufacturing process depends on chemicals at some point in the production chain. Even businesses that don’t deal with the chemical industry directly often rely on plastics or other products that do depend on chemicals. That demand has consistently fueled growth in the industry for the past century, so there are plenty of chemical suppliers for every business to choose from. With that many options, it can be hard to find the right one, but there are a few things to check that can make the decision easier.

Green Suppliers

The chemical industry is rarely gets credit for its work to protect the environment, but many leading chemical suppliers are striving to offer green chemicals to their clients. Their most common method is to adopt sustainable feedstock for their production whenever possible. Many of them have started phasing out fossil fuels in favor of other hydrocarbons whenever possible. That reduces the pollution that enters the environment from harvesting oil and conserves the planet’s oil reserves for other uses.

They also work to find alternatives to harmful chemicals. The research projects that allow them to do so are expensive, and buying chemicals from a green supplier can help fund that research. In the long run, that will reduce the strain on the natural world without requiring anyone to sacrifice their modern lifestyle.

This can be a point in a supplier’s favor even if your business is not interested in protecting the environment. Many consumers prefer to buy from businesses that support green causes, and getting your chemicals from a green supplier is one of the easiest ways to do so. The cost is rarely higher than getting them from any other supplier, so this is a great way for a business to boost their marketing at little to no cost.

Supply Capacity

Some chemical suppliers are much bigger than others, and their size can be relevant when you are choosing one for your business. “Be sure to figure out the quantity of each chemical that you will need before you begin your search for a supplier,” said RightPath Industries. Your logistics will be much easier if you get all of your chemicals from one source, so you can usually rule out any supplier that cannot meet all of your needs on their own, unless you need so many chemicals that no single company can provide them all.

Ideally, you should select a supplier that can produce significantly more chemicals than you actually require. This will make sure that you have the opportunity to increase the size of your orders later if your business expands. It also reduces the risk of an unexpected event in the supplier’s refinery cutting off your supply or causing an unacceptable delay on one of your orders.

Cost

While cost isn’t the only factor that you need to consider, it is still an important factor. Since the quality of pure chemicals does not vary, the price of chemicals tends to be relatively steady across suppliers, assuming that they have similar operational costs.

The cost of shipping is another matter entirely. It is very difficult to ship most chemicals safely, which means that shipping costs tend to be higher for chemicals than for most other products. The precise cost will determine on the chemical that is being shipped and the distance that it needs to travel, but it’s usually safe to assume that a chemical supplier that is located close to your business will be much cheaper than one that is farther away. There are occasional exceptions, usually involving chemicals coming from places with low labor costs, but it’s a good rule of thumb.

Industry Experience

Try to find a supplier that regularly works with your industry. That will make sure that they have experience dealing with the sort of chemicals that you need, and it will enable them to give useful advice if you are having trouble picking the right ones. It also increases the odds that they will keep up to date on the latest developments which impact your industry, which can help you to get the most recent chemical advances more quickly than your rivals.