Equitable support, resources, and recognition for SRMs Despite their strategic importance, SRMs often operate with fewer resources, recognition, and organisational support compared to internal managers. Here are key areas where SRMs need parity with internal leadership to perform their roles effectively and drive greater business outcomes: • Resources and training: Internal managers typically have access to development resources, from leadership coaching to budgeted training programmes. SRMs should receive similar support, with access to training in negotiation, risk management, cross-cultural communication, and relationship- building. These skills are essential to managing complex supplier dynamics, fostering alignment, and maximising supplier contributions to the business. • Integration with corporate culture and values: Employees receive structured onboarding programmes, values training, and engagement initiatives to align them with corporate culture. For SRMs, it is equally essential to receive the resources and support needed to cascade these values to supplier teams. By fostering a shared understanding of values, SRMs can cultivate supplier relationships that reflect the company’s standards, ethics, and mission—creating a consistent experience for customers across internal and external touchpoints. • Recognition and performance metrics: While internal managers have HR and a performance management system to evaluate them based on team performance, collaboration, and cultural alignment, SRMs currently getting little or no support in evaluating suppliers for the same thing. Suppliers should be assessed on similar criteria, including supplier behaviour/cultural alignment, risk mitigation, and value creation. Providing SRM’s with the training and the technology/tools to manage suppliers in a standardised way is critical to their success. Changing mindsets: The strategic case for elevating SRMs The extended enterprise research highlights that 50% of the workforce operates outside the company’s direct employment and plays a crucial role in delivering value to customers. This reality necessitates a shift in organisational thinking: suppliers are not just vendors; they are extensions of the organisation’s team, and those who manage these relationships are essential leaders.
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