When was the last time you bought a major appliance without checking its ratings first? Or saw a new doctor without a referral from someone you trust? The fact is, we value third-party recommendations because they help ensure more positive outcomes—and that’s certainly true when it comes to relocation-related suppliers.
After all, employee relocations are complex, costly and stressful under ideal circumstances. But when the suppliers we depend on—movers, real estate agents, mortgage companies—drop the ball, things can get even worse.
Now, most relocation companies offer their clients networks of preferred suppliers. And generally (with some big exceptions) this saves everyone time, money and frustration. Understanding how these networks work—and what to look out for—will ensure smoother, happier, more cost-effective relocations for you and your employees.
How Vetted Suppliers Save Time
When a relocation company truly screens its suppliers, it spares its clients’ employees the time-consuming process of researching suppliers, obtaining multiple quotes, creating spreadsheets, etc.
Take UrbanBound’s vetted supplier network. We collect ongoing feedback from our clients’ recently-relocated employees to verify that they were pleased with our suppliers’ performance. In other words, we do the legwork—saving employees hours of time, and verifying the quality of our network, too.
One more thing: because UrbanBound’s solution is software-based, employees save even more time when requesting, say, moving quotes. They can it right from our portal, by completing some basic information—just once—and providing it to multiple movers with a few clicks. Voila!
How Vetted Suppliers Save Money
Ideally, your relocation company not only screens its suppliers but has discounted pricing arrangements in place. That’s how we do it: our vendors agree to lower rates in return for higher volumes of business.
For example, the UB Mortgage Solution connects employees with top lenders that not only offer discounted mortgage rates but lower closing fees. If your relocation policy covers employees’ closing costs, this won’t just save employees money—it will save you money, too.
However: buyer beware. Not all relocation companies obtain supplier discounts. In fact, some old-school firms actually add commissions—called “markups”—on top of supplier fees. In fact, that’s how they make most of their profits!
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How Vetted Suppliers Prevent Frustration
Your relocation suppliers’ top job is to keep employees’ move running smoothly. They should solve their relocation-related challenges—not create new ones. That’s another reason it’s important to work with proven pros.
For example, did you know that most real estate agents fail in their first year? Often, it’s because they don’t know how to showcase homes properly…can’t negotiate effectively…or are unresponsive to their clients.
So, the relocating employee who chooses to list their home with their neighbor’s cousin (the one who just got his real-estate license) will most likely have a very different experience than if they went with a recommended expert—an established agent with relocation experience and a long list of satisfied clients.
The moving industry is rife with risk as well. There’s a reason that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration received more than 7,600 complaints against moving companies in 2022—ranging from broken furniture and missing valuables to the loss of irreplaceable heirlooms and even outright fraud.
The bottom line: the last thing you want is for your new employee to show up for their first day of work worried or angry about a delayed closing or household goods that didn’t arrive. Using vetted suppliers reduces frustration, freeing employees to focus on their work.
Chances are, in the past, you didn’t think too much about your relocation company’s supplier network. After all, it’s just one aspect of your relocation program—one that’s easy to overlook.
But it is important, and it does make a difference…. a difference to your employees’ relocation experience and to your budget, too.
If you don’t know that much about your relocation company’s network, we hope this has inspired you to ask for more information. And if you’d like to learn more about our supplier network, we welcome the chance to tell you more.
