| Supplier Relationship Management is a process for | | | | performance of their own organisation and also the |
| working collaboratively with your critical and strategic | | | | other party will give you the level of performance |
| suppliers on continuous improvement projects and | | | | but also the gaps that currently exist. |
| ways to achieve mutual benefit. The first meetings | | | | - Confirm your understanding of the baseline. The |
| to set this in motion are critical for establishing the | | | | base-lining exercise will produce an average score for |
| right ways of working for the future. Here is a | | | | each of the enablers and outcomes but will also show |
| checklist of the key things you should do. | | | | the range of answers. It is important to understand |
| - Choose your sponsors. Each relationship needs a | | | | the reasons why some people score differently in |
| sponsor from both the supplying and buying | | | | case the answers are biased and need to be |
| organisations. These are usually senior people such as | | | | balanced. You can probe these reasons by |
| Directors or Heads of functions. Their role is to make | | | | interviewing those who have given unusually high or |
| policy decisions on behalf of their organisation and | | | | low scores to find out why. |
| also drive the pace of the projects to ensure they | | | | - Map your goals. The previous tasks will have given |
| deliver quality benefits on time. It is essential that the | | | | you an insight into opportunities that exist with |
| sponsors you choose have the credibility and | | | | current ways of working. You also need to |
| seniority carry out this role. | | | | understand the goals of both parties and map them |
| - Choose your account managers. Sponsors engage | | | | against each other. Some goals will deliver value for |
| with the programme at regular but infrequent | | | | both sides and so should form the basis of joint |
| intervals, typically monthly or quarterly. This means | | | | projects. Others will conflict. This need not mean you |
| that someone needs to take responsibility for the | | | | are unable to have a collaborative relationship but |
| day to day activities of programme management. | | | | they may need to be recognised and planned for. |
| This is the role of the account manager and as with | | | | - Identify major gaps. By comparing the baseline |
| sponsors it is usual to have one from each party | | | | results you will usually get two types of gap. The |
| working together on a relationship with the | | | | first is a gap between the two organisations for a |
| accountability of marshalling their own organisation's | | | | particular enabler or outcome. This can mean that |
| input to each project. | | | | one party gets less benefit from the relationship than |
| - Establish the baseline for the relationship. You can | | | | the other and so you need to find ways to close this |
| only establish whether or not the relationship has | | | | gap. The other type of gap is that between the |
| moved forward if you know where you started | | | | current level of performance and the best that can |
| from. This requires you to baseline the relationship at | | | | be achieved. Closing these gaps is how you become |
| the start of the programme. One way to do this is | | | | world class. |
| to use a modified version of an approach such as | | | | - Develop improvement projects to close the gaps. |
| EFQM which links the enablers of good performance | | | | Once you have a list of the gaps you are in a |
| with the outcomes. Selecting a range of people who | | | | position to prioritise them and develop projects that |
| have a knowledge of the interaction between both | | | | will close them. |
| organisations and asking them to score the current | | | | |