How a Partnership with a New Distributor Really Starts

Most partnerships with a new distributor do not start with “How much does it cost?”

More often, they start with a much more interesting question.

“Can you make it differently from the way you currently do?”

And that is where things get interesting. Because the answer is rarely a simple “yes” or “no”. More often, it is “it depends.”

We do have an OEM direction, and we are open to it. But OEM is not what the whole range is built around. Our main flow is more than 900 standard products that are already engineered, costed, certified and ready to move through production with a typical lead time of 30 days.

So when a new request means changing that flow for one custom order, we look at the bigger picture. Is this a one time request, or is it the beginning of a product direction worth building around?

Sometimes the best answer is not “yes”

We once had a relatively small OEM request that was genuinely interesting. The product itself made sense. The volumes and production specifics, however, did not justify rebuilding part of the cycle at that stage.

Instead of giving the customer a flat “no”, we suggested another format of cooperation, one that could actually work for both sides.

And sometimes that is exactly how a normal business relationship starts. Not in the form either side expected at the beginning.

Certification tells us something too

The second thing we notice very early is certification.

Some partners ask about it in the first few messages. ISO 9001. FSC® Chain of Custody. PN EN 1729 for school furniture. Yes, people really do read these things. It is not only us proudly attaching certificates to emails.

Others never bring certification up at all. That is not a reason to reject a conversation, of course. But it is a useful clue about the markets, projects and customer requirements behind it.

We are open to different kinds of cooperation

Standard catalogue products are our foundation. That part is straightforward. Clear specifications. Predictable production. Certifications already in place. Fast quoting.

But custom ideas, individual OEM requests and the occasional “could we try it another way?” are interesting too, when there is enough substance behind the conversation.

We are not the kind of supplier that answers every unusual question with “this is how we have always done it.” Although, we admit, there are days when it is tempting.

And now, the obligatory B2B numbers

Since we have already talked about certifications and production processes, here are a few figures, because apparently no B2B article is considered complete without them.

GEROM operates through a Polish legal entity, and the furniture is made in Ukraine.

Our typical production lead time is 30 days. Not the loudest marketing slogan in the world, we know. But once a distributor calculates logistics and margin for themselves, those numbers usually speak more clearly than we do.

What actually matters in the first conversation

For us, a good first conversation is not about forcing every request into our catalogue or saying yes to everything. It is about understanding whether there is a commercially sensible way to work together through the standard range, an OEM route, project supply or sometimes a different format altogether.

We value the partners we already work with, and we are always happy to meet new ones.

If you already have a specific cooperation idea in mind, send it over. We will be happy to look at it together.