Supplier relationship management

Adopting a collaborative approach to key strategic suppliers has extensive commercial and business advantages.

Creating a system that maintains and develops critical supplier relationships is not straightforward. Often what passes for Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is a patchwork of inconsistent initiatives, unduly dependent on individual managers. 

Our SRM methodology is proven across sectors and tailored to your requirements and priorities. By building stronger, collaborative relationships with key suppliers, you benefit from cost reduction both directly and in the reduced burden of dispute resolution, improve supplier performance and compliance, gain share with suppliers by uncovering opportunities to realize new value, and create more resilient supply chains that reduce the risk of failure.

We provide support to organisations where: 

• There is no formal Supplier Relationship Management process or several different approaches and processes across the business. 
• Supplier managers are confused about the process and its objectives and lack the required skills and tools. 
• Key suppliers appear to be underperforming, but there is no consistent way of monitoring or resolving the issues. 
• Strategic supplier relationships have deteriorated back into a transactional and adversarial mode. 
• Strategic suppliers find the relationship difficult or frustrating.

Supplier relationship management framework

Our starting point is supplier segmentation. We often find that any existing categorization of strategic suppliers is outdated and no longer reflects business realities. 

We deliver a detailed report on the strengths and weaknesses of any current SRM practices. This allows you to understand the gaps between the current situation and a best-in-class SRM program Our SRM Maturity Assessment typically includes questionnaires, workshops, and one-to-one interviews. 

We use this insight to create a version of our SRM methodology tailored to your situation and applicable across all areas of procurement, with comprehensive guidance for user implementation. Supporting tools include eFlow, our digital Supplier Lifecycle Management platform, which eases data processing and improves the availability of information. 

Typically, we devise a pilot implementation in a chosen area to test and refine the solution. Where possible, we work in joint teams alongside your Procurement function to enable upskilling and knowledge transfer and obtain buy-in from Procurement staff and other stakeholders. 

You can then implement the pilot and, after any revisions, roll out a single, consistent, and effective SRM approach across your organization.