I was part of a discussion with several suppliers to newsagents this week and each complained about poor record keeping by newsagents.
This usually comes up because pop a breach of an agreement or a desire by a newsagent to switch suppliers. The contract gets raised and the newsagent says they don’t have a copy of it, often saying they were never given a copy of it.
Two of the suppliers mentioned that they keep records of when contracts are signed and when a copy was sent to their retailer customers.
I was helping one newsagent a few years ago with cards and they said they did not have a card contract. I checked with their then supplier, a card company I’d never dealt with. Sure enough, there was a contract and it had two years remaining.
All of this is easily resolved.
Any time you sign a contract or agreement, keep a copy, file it for easy access. Not doing this wastes time down the track.
This is pretty basic business stuff. It’s frustrating that among some suppliers the channel is known for poor record keeping.