a company that provides a particular type of product:
supplier of
• Microsoft is the world's largest supplier of PC software.
• With California's orange crop halved, local suppliers have had to find alternative sources.
• What the retailer needs is a larger supplier base in order to be more competitive.
ˌfirst-tier supˈplier also ˌprimary supˈplier
COMMERCE a company that sells and delivers materials or goods to a customer's factory or shop:
• Our company is first-tier supplier of components to the world’s automotive manufacturers.
preˌferred supˈplier COMMERCE
a company that has an agreement with another company to supply it with goods or services:
• A major telecoms firm recently announced that it would make the company its preferred supplier of new data communications equipment.
ˌsecond-tier supˈplier
COMMERCE a company that sells and delivers materials or goods to a first-tier supplier
* * *
supplier UK US /səˈplaɪər/ noun COMMERCE
► [C] a company that provides a product, or the materials to make a product: supplier of sth to sb/sth »
The company is a supplier of software to the film industry.
leading/main/key supplier »They used to be a leading supplier of medical equipment.
»Most energy suppliers are doing well in the current economic climate.
→ See also FIRST-TIER SUPPLIER(Cf. ↑first-tier supplier), PREFERRED SUPPLIER(Cf. ↑preferred supplier), SECOND-TIER SUPPLIER(Cf. ↑second-tier supplier)
Financial and business terms. 2012.