2023 GLOBAL SRM RESEARCH REPORT
COLLABORATION
92
93
The theme of this year’s supplier management research report is developing mature and effective supply chain relationships that can become part of an extended enterprise. For this to work, all the attributes of collaboration must be in place. This, by extension, means all the attributes of supplier management, as these enable collaboration. While it’s encouraging to see improved account management, preferential pricing and commitment increasing due to collaboration, it’s disappointing to see little movement on a collaborative approach to achieving sustainability goals. These will only become more important as time passes; therefore, exploring more collaborative approaches now makes sense. Another encouraging indicator is the increased focus on achieving win-win outcomes that consider all parties’ strategic objectives. However, with this development reported by less than 50% of even Leaders and Fast Followers, more work still needs to be done. Relationships are notoriously tricky to measure, but the 360˚ assessment provides a tool to both measure and create a meaningful metric and surface the issues that might need to be resolved for the relationship to thrive. Wider use of this tool will help all parties. Finally, the sponsors of supplier management need to create a strong narrative for the business around the connection between customer of choice benefits, e.g., improved account management and supplier executive focus and tangible business outcomes such as financial gain, broader value and reduced risk. The key opportunities in the area of collaboration are: • Embedding collaborative behaviours in the supply chain to enable the extended enterprise. • Adopting a more collaborative approach to achieving sustainability goals and objectives. • Building a better understanding of shared goals and objectives to inform business plans and drive more win-win outcomes. • Create a stronger link between customer of choice benefits and tangible business outcomes. • Act on the results of 360˚relationship assessments to create healthier more collaborative relationships. “Technology advances are transforming almost every aspect of our lives, and yet supplier management continues to lag behind many business processes.”
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