Find a supplier inside your network without posting an enquiry

Why it is hard to find suppliers through business network groups

A manufacturer who needs 5,000 corrugated boxes a month, or a contractor short of a site generator, has a network full of possible suppliers. Posting the enquiry in the group has costs, though. Competitors see what you are buying and in what volume. Five members reply with "DM me", two of them don't supply what you need, and the right supplier was busy that afternoon and never scrolled back.

Buying from inside the network is one of the strongest reasons to stay a member. It only happens when the enquiry reaches the member who actually supplies that product, in that delivery area, at a time they can answer.

What a supply request looks like

These are made-up sample requests, written the way members type them. Names and figures are invented.

Milvao asks one question at most if the product or the city is unclear, then shows the brief to the buyer to confirm, edit or cancel before any supplier sees it.

How a buyer finds a supplier, step by step

1. 1The buyer writes the requirement to your community's WhatsApp number, in English or Hinglish, with quantity, specification and where it has to be delivered.
2. 2Milvao replies with a brief. The buyer confirms it, then chooses whether their number may be shared if a supplier agrees.
3. 3Milvao asks the member whose profile lists that product and who is based in or delivers to that city. The supplier sees the brief, not the buyer's name or exact words.
4. 4The supplier taps Accept or Decline within 48 hours. If they decline or don't answer, the next best supplier is asked, up to three in total.
5. 5On Accept, buyer and supplier get each other's name and number privately and agree price, samples and terms between themselves.

Set up skills and delivery cities for suppliers

Matching is only as good as your lists. For supply requests, name skills after what is bought, not after the member's trade body or job title: "Corrugated packaging" rather than "Manufacturing", "Industrial gases" rather than "Chemicals". Members pick up to 10 skills, so a trader who stocks several lines can list each one.

Cities matter more here than for most services, because a supplier who can't deliver is no help. Ask suppliers to add every city they deliver to, not only where their unit is. A supplier based in Ludhiana who delivers to Mohali ranks below one based in Mohali for a Mohali order, but can still be asked. See skills and cities.

If minimum order sizes matter in your network, add an optional profile question such as "Minimum order you accept" and set it to Operators only, so your team can see it when they review a request. Profile questions explains the visibility settings.

Limits for supplier requests

• Milvao asks one supplier at a time. A buyer who wants three quotes side by side will get them one after another at best, or should post a tender elsewhere.
• Requests are text only, so drawings, photos of samples and price lists are shared after the introduction, directly between the two members.
• Milvao records the introduction, not the order, price or delivery.
• Matching runs across your whole community. Limiting a request to one chapter is planned.