ENGAGEMENT
STAKEHOLDERMANAGEMENT Gaining stakeholder engagement and support remains vital for successful SRM. Although the data suggests steady support among stakeholder groups, in our experience it is well below the strength of engagement necessary to accelerate SRM and to ensure it fulfils its initial value proposition. One reason for this would appear to be a reluctance to put together a systematic plan for individuals outside procurement who are vital to supplier relationships. A stakeholder management plan for SRM is only in place at half the companies we surveyed. 50% of businesses have a specific stakeholder management plan for SRM
LEADERSANDFOLLOWERS HAVEMORESUPPLIERSUPPORT
Fig 14. How would you assess the level of engagement and support from your key suppliers? (Leaders/followers)
Leader
Follower
Other
9 %
Strong and active engagement
23 %
35 %
55 %
Supportive
67 %
60 %
33 % 3 %
Neutral
10 %
5 %
Opposed
SUPPLIERVOICE: IS ITBEINGHEARD?
For many, the starting point for SRM is obtaining real insight into how they are perceived as a customer by their key suppliers. For example, UK leader in gaming and betting Ladbrokes surveyed its suppliers to ensure their voice influenced its SRM programme from the outset (see case study, page 58) . Voice of the supplier surveys also provide data to help review and, if necessary, refocus SRM programmes to ensure they are on the right track. The very act of asking for feedback can be the first step on a path that ultimately leads to more collaborative and mutually beneficial supplier relationships. As we’ve seen in this section, SRM initiatives need to engage stakeholders in the process. The foundation of good stakeholder management is developing empathy or ‘walking a mile in someone else’s shoes’.
This starts with asking questions and understanding what the answers mean for both parties, so gathering information from suppliers is consistent with treating them as stakeholders in SRM. The process can take many forms and our survey question did not examine how supplier feedback was gathered. But whatever the method, we would encourage organisations to gain an understanding of what suppliers think of them. It can reveal how customers can inadvertently add to suppliers’ costs and miss opportunities to innovate (see guest article from MediaCom). Our survey found 40% of companies had gathered feedback from their suppliers on how they were perceived as a customer in the past 12 months. However, among leaders the figure is 75%.
Oursurvey found40%of companieshadgathered feedback fromtheir suppliersonhowthey wereperceivedasa customer in thepast 12months. However, among leaders the figure is75%.
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