Three questions to ask before you sign a supply contract

I have signed supply contracts for lorries and for surgical gloves. The questions that mattered were the same, and none of them were about the price.

What happens when you are late?

Penalties are easy to agree and hard to collect. Ask instead what the supplier does on the day: who tells you, how early, and what they send instead.

Who do I call at seven in the morning?

Ask for a name and a mobile number before you sign. If the answer is a ticketing portal, you have your answer.

What does leaving cost?

Read the exit clause first. A supplier who is confident in its service rarely needs a long notice period, and the ones who insist on it are telling you something.