Do you consider your suppliers true partners with your business or do you have more of a master/ slave relationship, where suppliers are asked to constantly cut costs, meet demands of the business and constantly demonstrate how they are meeting your needs?
True business partnerships can be highly impactful and create shared success. These are built over time, with trust, transparency and genuine care for each other’s success and a commitment to shared value and we1 have personally built and seen these have a huge impact for all parties involved, over the years.
Unfortunately too many businesses do not see or truly understand the value that these relationships offer and instead aim to control suppliers/ dictate terms of engagement and this often leads to dis engagement/ lost opportunities, where a more transactional and superficial engagement exists, without the true rewards.
So how do you go about changing your supplier relationships/ creating a true partnership?
- Understand past relationships that people at your company have had with the supplier and ensure that you also ask your suppliers about their experience with you/ the business. (you may be surprised how rarely this happens)
- Communicate and involve key stakeholders in decisions and do not delegate supplier relationship management and decisions to procurement.
- Position the relationship as a journey, not a short sighted transaction, seeking for this to evolve and strengthen over time
- Understand what great may look like and agree mutual goals to achieve this, with milestones along the way
- Communicate regularly, honestly and with an open and personalised approach. (this is absolutely a two way street so providing opportunities for feedback and discussion is key for success).
While all of this may not seem like ‘ rocket science’ (because clearly it is not), the reality is that often this is so far down the list of priorities for organisations that they only realise there is an issue / the relationship is in trouble/ may affect their business, when it is too far down the road to repair/ good faith is already lost.
The benefits of getting this right:
• Highly engaged suppliers who want the best for your business and will celebrate and shared success
with you
• An external network of brand ambassadors that will tell others about your business, share
connections and offer larger value than you can imagine
• An easier road to working through any bumps in the road and a higher willingness to support when
things are tough or through periods of change
• A mutually engaged group of people who you can share ideas, thought leadership and gain valuable
insights into your business from, to ensure you are constantly evolving to the market, competitor
threats and maximising opportunities.
So… what are you waiting for? If this is a call to action or you can see opportunities to improve / enhance your supplier relationships, start by having a conversation and suggest sending out a RFP/ a contract document is not the way to do this. Pick up the phone/ arrange a coffee and start, as all great leaders do, by seeking to understand and discussing how you can both win together.
