Who are veterinary supply distributors?

Veterinary supply distributors are individuals or businesses that inventory and distribute veterinary products produced by different veterinary companies. They often employ their own distributor representative sales force that helps in detailing the veterinary products they have to veterinarian clients and hospitals.

Some of the leading veterinary supply distributors include Antinol Animal Health and Veterinary Distributors, Coventus, Midwest Veterinary Supply, Victor Medical, Penn Medical, Animal Health International, Clipper-Vet International, MWI, Patterson Veterinary, PBS Animal Health, Med-Vet International, and Victor Medical, among others.

Looking for veterinary supply distributors? Key traits to look for

With so many veterinary supply distributors, you may wonder how to choose one that is able to effectively inventory and distribute your veterinary products. That is a good dilemma because choosing the right veterinary supplier is almost as important as choosing a lifetime partner! Their success has a bearing on your success, and vice versa.

Highly successful veterinary product manufacturers understand that finding and selecting a veterinary supply distributor who is successful in his ability to inventory and distribute products is an essential first step to managing veterinary product quality and limiting product defects in orders.

Choosing the wrong veterinary supplier will lock a business into unnecessary shipping delays, poor service quality, and despicable product returns. On the other hand, choosing the right veterinary supply distributors will catapult a business toward quality products and satisfied customers.

So, how do you determine whether a particular veterinary supply distributor is the right one to help you achieve the quality of your products that you want as well as satisfied customers? The answer to that lies in researching the distributors you’re interested in working with from the perspective of the traits that endear leading veterinary suppliers to great success.

What makes a highly successful veterinary supply distributor?

It is not a secret that highly successful veterinary supply distributors tend to exhibit certain distinctive traits. So, if you are looking for a veterinary supplier to work with, assess your potential candidates based on the following key traits that successful veterinary suppliers tend to exhibit:

• Being accountable for product quality issues

Highly successful veterinary supply distributors will not pass the buck whenever the product they are inventorying and distributing is found to have quality issues. Yes, it is common knowledge that admitting to mistakes is not a walk in the park for many people, but when the products a veterinary supply distributor distributes are on the line, a great supply distributor is one who takes responsibility for the quality issues in the products and works tirelessly toward addressing them.

Suppliers who don’t own up to mistakes are vexatious to the growth of the business because they could potentially hinder the business’ ability to meet deadlines as well as product requirements. So, when considering hiring a veterinary supplier, look for signs of accountability.

• Capacity to produce the product

Highly successful veterinary supply distributors have adequate capacity to manufacture a veterinary product you want them to produce. When looking for a veterinary supply distributor for your product, go for a supplier that is able to consistently manufacture your product in a way that meets your product specifications and requirements.

Let’s consider a product such as Antinol for dogs as an example. Getting veterinary supply distributors to inventory and distribute this joint support for dogs entails detailed and careful consideration to find suppliers who are able to precisely deliver products with 50 mg of patented marine lipid extract EAB-277 active ingredient, comprising of 30 mg of Perna calaliculus lipid fractions and 20 mg of Euphausua supeba.

The EAB-277 should contain the full spectrum of all known Omega 3s in a highly bioavailable form, as well as other vital and rare polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and antioxidants. A supply distributor without the capacity to produce the product to the desired standard and requirements will mess up the enterprise.

• Expertise in the product type and the target market

There is no highly successful veterinary supply distributor who lacks expertise in the type of veterinary product they are inventorying and distributing. In fact, any successful veterinary supplier must be familiar with the common quality issues related to the product they are dealing with.

The reasoning behind having a veterinary supply distributor with expertise in the type of product and target market is that if they're familiar with the product, they’re more likely to be able to identify and fix problems proactively before they can affect a large portion of the order.

Other key success factors of highly successful veterinary suppliers

There are other traits to look for that indicate a particular supplier will be successful in inventorying and distributing your products. These include being culture fit so that the best veterinary suppliers are willing to work with them; having the ease of communication; having the amenable ability to cooperate with third-party quality control systems; having ethical and regulatory compliance; and having the ability to clearly and comprehensively keep records.