ARTICLE
STATE OF FLUX
2014 GLOBAL SRM RESEARCH REPORT
68
Achieving a customer of choice status is not a separate initiative from SRM; it’s integral
CUSTOMER OF CHOICE STRATEGY
The strategy to become a customer of choice will require senior sponsorship and support. It will also require process and behavioural changes that will challenge some deeply held beliefs about the customer supplier relationship being that of ‘master and servant’, and might not be a journey that all in the company are comfortable with. It will need to deliver both risk mitigation and incremental benefits from becoming a customer of choice for more of your key suppliers. Currently, only 53% of companies responding to our 2014 survey believe they are a customer of choice for more than half of their key suppliers. State of Flux 2014 global SRM research Securing more supplier innovation is regarded as an important business driver by more than eight in ten respondents, but less than one in five believe they do it well. State of Flux 2014 global SRM research 67% of respondents believe that being able to secure the best supplier resource is an important business benefit, yet only 22% believe they achieve it. State of Flux 2014 global SRM research
Here are a few example questions the organisation must ask itself to identify what needs to change in order to become a customer of choice for more of its key suppliers.
Are you:
OPEN AND TRANSPARENT? Are you willing to communicate your business strategy, growth and plans, e.g. business development, technology road maps and evolution of supply chain strategy? AN INNOVATION PARTNER? Are you open to supplier innovative ideas and able to manage them effectively? TRUSTWORTHY? Do you act with integrity, are you reliable and do you stick to agreements? TRUSTING? Do you trust your suppliers to act with integrity, be reliable and stick to agreements?
GOOD AT COMMUNICATION? Is it frequent, clear, concise and two-way?
COLLABORATIVE ? Do you seek towork together as business as usual?
FAIR AND REASONABLE? Do you seek mutuality, and treat suppliers fairly and with respect? Do you share the benefits of joint efforts?
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