COLLABORATION
to build and maintain trust was identified as an important skill for SRM by 50% of respondents. However, only 7% have undertaken any training and development to build the capability to nurture trust in relationships. Nine out of 10 respondents say trust is an important part of SRM. It is also a key factor in creating more openness, transparency and collaboration. These cannot exist without trust. For example, we can’t benefit from sharing information more freely if we don’t trust the information, and we can’t collaborate effectively if we don’t trust our collaborators or feel they are unreliable. BEHAVIOURS Behaviours will not always be perfect but a level of consistency is important in SRM, according to 75% of respondents. Behavioural maturity and consistency contributes to many aspects of SRM. It is necessary for good stakeholder management, managing operational performance and building collaboration. But the time where it is most severely tested is during negotiations. Can the most pressurised aspect of supplier engagement be conducted successfully while demonstrating mature and consistent behaviours? Or do old-style adversarial behaviours re-emerge. We asked organisations if they believed SRM has had any positive impact on negotiations. Just over 70% of respondents reported at least some positive impact on negotiation as a result of SRM (Fig 34) . 50%of respondentssay theability tobuild trust isan important SRMskill but only7%havecarried out any training.
ORGANISATIONALCOMPLEXITY ISSEENAS THEGREATESTBARRIERTOSUPPLIER INNOVATION
Fig 32. What are the major barriers to your organisation attracting, evaluating and implementing supplier innovation?
%
61
Complexity of our organisation
57
Lack of time and resources
52
No formal process to manage external innovation
41
Lack of clear internal ownership There is a common perception that suppliers are just trying to sell
39
33
Internal reluctance to consider external ideas
23
We have more important priorities
7
Our innovation strategy does not include external innovation Other
6
ALIGNMENT In 2014, we found that only 18% of respondents were using any kind of 360° relationship assessment tool to gather information on how strategically and culturally aligned they were with their key suppliers. Last year, the figure showed a significant increase to 33%, but it has since fallen back to 30% (Fig 33) . This reflects a notable lack of curiosity about the nature of key relationships. Businesses successful in SRM ask themselves if suppliers are aligned with them, whether they share the same values and are working towards joint objectives. The answers might be difficult to come by, but businesses that ignore the questions will fail to identify and address any misalignment. The creation of a joint account or business plan is themost tangible example of organisations seeking to becomemore aligned and committing to shared objectives. However, our research shows that only 50% of firms have created them for even some of theirmost important suppliers (Fig 33) . 30% Only 30%of businesses conduct 360° reviews of alignment and compatibility
40%OFORGANISATIONSDONOT HAVE JOINTACCOUNTPLANSWITH THEIRMOST IMPORTANTSUPPLIERS
Fig 33. Have you created joint account plans with your most important suppliers?
8 %
Yes
42 %
For some
40 %
No
10 %
Don’t know
TRUST Trust is the cornerstone of a successful relationship. Our ongoing dialogue with both buy- and sell-side companies shows both parties want to be able to trust the other. But this can only come about if they are not only reliable and have integrity (trustworthy) but also trusting (they trust each other). Trust needs to be built at both personal and corporate level. The ability
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