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The existing sourcing intranet was supplemented with supplier management content and linked to a number of internal road show events. The intranet matured into a self service experience. An environment for collaboration and learning. Helping the key stakeholders to engage the relevant supplier manager at pace started to gain the momentum we had hoped. It was recognised that it was relatively more difficult to sell supplier management value than it was to sell defined sourcing value. Clear and measurable objectives were half of the challenge. Communication, executive sponsorship and selling effectiveness were the other. SO, WHERE ARE WE NOW? Tom explains, “supplier management is increasingly recognised as a critical role across LV= and, in the external market, it is helping LV= to fulfill its employer of choice objective”. The LV= account director of their largest recruitment supplier comments, “sourcing and supplier management have added significant brand value to LV=, combined with its marketing strategy and behaviourally orientated approach to recruitment. Candidates ask about LV=. They are at the front of the talent queue”. The supplier management team is delivering significant and sustainable budget reduc- tion, mitigating supply chain complexity and risk. 2012 formally established LV= as a customer of choice with their strategic suppliers. As the account director at LV=’s outsourced data centre provider comments, “LV= are leading the way with respect to supplier management relative to our other customers, including those much larger in spend terms. The contract and relationship is balanced with performance, risk and cost scorecard components, with an innovative, collaborative working style at its core”. The approach taken by LV= has embedded good practice and standard methodology for supplier management, and is flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of the business now and in the future. They have achieved a much more transparent and auditable view of all their key supplier relationships and contracts. Tom added, “realistically, this is the beginning of our supplier management journey, and we see an exciting and opportunistic future. We have set a clear agenda”. As Richard Warner, CIO comments, “the sourcing and supplier management team demonstrate the behaviours required to take good (practice) to great. The team has evolved into a leading edge capability, growing in size and scope along the way, and winning the hearts and minds of challenging stakeholders”.
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