How do I evaluate a dessert shop’s loyal wholesale accounts with cafés?

Get the list of café accounts with their order histories. Note which cafés order every week, which order by season and which have dropped off. If a few accounts account for most of the wholesale sales, treat that as concentration and ask what happens if one leaves.

Next, look at how they pay. Ask for the receivables report and see whether any café is slow, disputes invoices or has been written off. A loyal account that always pays late is a different thing from one that pays on time. Compare the invoices with what the cafés are charged and whether any discounts are informal.

Then look at the relationship. Ask who takes the orders, who delivers and who deals with complaints. Is there a written agreement or just a handshake? Ask whether you can visit one or two cafés together with the seller, once you are well along. Finally, ask what the cafés like about the product. If it is a recipe or a baker, ask whether the same people stay. Ask also whether any café has tried a competitor lately and why it came back. That answer shows what keeps the account. Notes from those visits are worth keeping.

Key takeaways

• Rank café accounts by order history and look for concentration.
• Check payment habits in the receivables report.
• Ask who owns each relationship and whether anything is in writing.
• Visit key cafés with the seller late in the process.