Supplier Relationship Management and Radio WII FM

When you want to get support for whatever it is you’re doing, Brian Tracy advocates tuning into everyone’s favourite radio station … WII FM  or “what’s in it for me”. 

So, if you want Supplier Relationship Management to be anymore than clever words or a new fad, you need to tune into WII FM for the senior people in your organisation as well as those of your major suppliers. 

A selection of benefits from SRM can include the following, depending on the industry you are in. 

Service related benefits

·         Early supplier involvement helps to shape the question that their product or service aims to answer for you and so gives a more effective solution

·         Captures and shares Intellectual Property

·         Provides a better balance between technical and purchasing requirements

·         Reduces the supplier learning curve

·         Acts as a free source for “hot housing” and incubating new ideas and problem solving 

Commercial related benefits

·         Lower cost of bidding and engagement

·         Marginal costs from account planning

·         Lower costs from target costing and benchmarking

·         Reduced costs from supply chain management i.e. suppliers’ suppliers

·         Better  ”lock in” of suppliers if demand outstrips supply

·         Shared risk 

People related benefits

·         Continuity of work allows suppliers to have a career path for their people (if you are buying a professional service such as consulting) and ”refreshes” ideas and lowers costs

·         Enhanced skills from problem-solving with suppliers

·         Improved communications and collaboration (if your organisation has multiple sites) 

Process related benefits

·         Reduced non-value adding tasks

·         Capture and use knowledge and learning for use in future work

·         Faster response to your needs from improved processes

·         A more consistent pool of people (if a service related purchase) who will build a knowledge bank of your organisation 

What do you think?  Do any of these benefits actually mean anything to anyone at senior levels.  If not, what do you suggest as the benefits with which to sell SRM?