Evolving Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)

Managing supplier relationships used to be a zero sum game. Most companies focused on short terms goals where price was the main focus. Bullying suppliers were commonplace in some organizations. Employees took great pride in “facing down suppliers” and relationships were viewed on “how much money we will make”. However, with the increase in outsourcing [...]

6 key Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) issues to consider in emerging markets

Culture – understand culture issues and don’t assume anything. Change your thinking when working in other markets Relationships – build long term relationships with suppliers and always act with the relationship in mind Contracts – don’t assume all parties will read the fine print and try to avoid legal terms. Avoid disputes and ensure contracts [...]

10 supplier risk signs to look for

In today’s challenging environment, companies need to be aware of the risks of suppliers going out of business. IndustryWeek lists ten signs to look out for: The supplier has a large part of its businesses in depressed industries It has raw material shortages or cannot meet the agreed lead times because of late purchase order [...]

Outsourcing Considerations

When outsourcing any activities or processes to 3PL and 4PL operators, there are a number of factors to consider. Expertise – Do they have the required expertise? Alignment – How aligned are they with our organizational goals and strategy? Culture – Do we anticipate any culture clash? Organizational Fit – How will the partnership work [...]

The Advantages of Collaboration

Integrated systems. In today’s business world, collaboration and integration allow an organization to view the whole supply chain. Each partner in the chain fulfills a role and creates visibility for the other members of the chain. Shared Key Performance Indicators. Business Intelligence (BI) applications share Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to integrated members of the supply [...]

Emerging market partner selection and management

Southern Africa has been consuming our time of late, and I we have been missing in action. We recently conducted a supply assessment and pilot roll-out for a media company in Zambia. Our workstream focused primarily on the Go-to-Market strategy and partner selection. The following key issues were identified during the assessment: Select the right [...]

10 key barriers with partner collaboration

Culture differences. Different organizations have different values and ways of doing things. Poor alignment. Organizational goals and incentive conflicts. Contracts and legal. Poor drawn up contracts or lack of contracts. Accountability issues. Overlapping processes and unclear accountability issues. Competing partners. Conflict of interests with competing organizations. Lack of leadership. Lack of leadership to drive the [...]