“We allow our members to
purchase outside the group. The are
free to deal with other suppliers,”
she said.
Members who do use The
Optical Group often find it helps
reduce the amount of paperwork
and administration that often comes
with buying many different frames
or lenses.
Members instead pay directly
to The Optical Group rather than
several sources.
Ouellette noted there is also the
added bonus of access to higher end
and private labels at reduced prices
that could not be achieved if a business
tried to negotiate on their own.
Bonnie Vietch of Wainwright
Eyecare Ltd., in Alberta has been
using the group buying method for
more than 20 years.
She said it has helped her business
stay competitive as well as help keep
the focus on business improvement
rather than accounting.
“A small business can’t secure
the discounts that you can through
a buying group,” she said, adding
one payment makes life much easier.
“They pay all the accounts for us and
we pay with one cheque.”
Vietch also noted that buying
groups offer negotiation services
that many small business owners
may not possess.
The buying group works with
the distributor to secure a price that
fits within a businesses budget and
handles all the negotiations.
“I love dealing with them. It’s
way less paper work for me,” she said.
Whether it’s a better deal or less
paper work a business is looking for,
the power of the buying group has
definite perks for businesses. The
reduced cost and overhead means
businesses can charge less money
to the client earning more repeat
customers and more sales.
The buying group will also deal
directly with the distributor if there
is a problem with delivery or the
product.
“In this case we allow our clients
to take a credit so they aren’t putting
out a lot of money,” said Ouellette.
She added buying groups make
great fiscal sense in the long run as
businesses try to grow and expand.
“It’s one reasonable fee and a
tremendous amount of time savings,”
she said. •
To learn more about The Optical Group
visit www.theopticalgroup.com.
OPTICAL PRISM | DIGITAL SUPPLEMENT | DECEMBER 2013
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