Collaborative Supplier Relationships – Best Practices

Collaborative Supplier Relationships – Best Practices

Collaboration with business partners can yield significant benefits including increased supply assurance, reduction in latency and lower inventory levels, faster product innovation cycles, increased flexibility to respond to change and increased revenue. While the results can be dramatic, not all attempts to foster collaborative relationships have been successful. The following is a brief checklist of practices that will help improve the success rate and maximize the value of investments in this area for all participants. Focus on people, process and technology – all three are required for success. Segment your suppliers based on measures important to your business and develop targeted strategy & approaches for each, e.g. one size does not fit all. Segment materials based on key attributes such as cost, MTS/MTO/ETO, volume, constrained vs. unconstrained, demand volatility, etc. and develop deployment strategies to accelerate/maximize value. Both parties must derive benefits from the relationship – establish scheme for sharing captured value. All key stakeholders should be involved in the design of the solution – incorporate supplier needs into the solution. Executive support and active participation is critical. Establish metrics & benchmarks for project – track regularly and make results highly visible. Involve actual users in creation of user documentation & on-line help. Relationships change over time as trust develops – start slow and evolve solutions to capture incremental value as relationships mature. Requirements will constantly change – find a solution that is flexible to accommodate change as fast as the business requires. Establish a continuous improvement program – reward significant/break-though contributions. Consider establishing a user group that meets at least annually – this will help keep a focus on...
Ferrari Group Backs Vecco

Ferrari Group Backs Vecco

We’re happy to share a recent post on Supply Chain Matters, written by Bob Ferrari, Ferrari Consulting and Research Group: “When I was an industry analyst at AMR Research covering the supply chain planning area, I had the opportunity to evaluate and participate in the market introduction of many innovative technology companies. Some were borne out of R&D initiatives at major technology companies where the core innovators and software Ph.D.’s then left to launch a next generation technology. One of these companies, Sockeye Solutions, had understood that the impact of globalization coupled with exponential advances in technology would mean that a company’s competitive advantage would lie in their ability to unify their entire value chain. They developed a unique technology platform that enables multi-tier collaborative business process orchestration.”   Read...