5 COMMUNICATION ISSUE Continued on next page REDUCE WASTE & INCREASE RESULTS The pandemic has taught us many important business lessons. One of the most important lessons it taught us was understanding supplier relationships to get what you need—when needed. Many companies were shortchanged when they found their off-shore suppliers could not deliver. Things might have been different if they had a Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) in place to quickly source other local and qualified suppliers. Does that seem a bit too simple? Maybe. But it can be pretty simple if you have adopted a way to manage your suppliers cohesively, comprehensively, and collaboratively. From experience, we know that many companies, unfortunately, have their supplier information scattered in various spreadsheets, online shared documents and the inevitable folders in Outlook. A system like this doesn’t communicate with other team Supplier Relationship Management Explained members, track performance and RFQs, or is easily taught or explained to the newcomer on the procurement team. Today’s supplier management systems (SRM) solve this problem in easy-to-use online cloud-based systems, making them accessible as your company grows. These systems put your supplier information into a database, making it usable to all team members. These systems mean that companies big and small can now manage their RFQs, update supplier capabilities and track progress from one online portal. If your company hasn’t sent out an RFQ lately, it’s most likely symptomatic of a more significant problem that can easily be resolved with a cloud-based system. THE BASICS OF SRM Qualifications, certifications, and experience in particular industries – make sourcing much harder. If you are in the aerospace industry, for example, there are industry certifications, requirements, and required experience that is not common to other industries. Let’s face it, making parts for planes is much different from manufacturing parts for many other industries. An SRM system improves buyersupplier communication, increases collaboration with team members, and streamlines the entire process. Most companies that adopt an SRM note that they are able to reduce their sourcing staff, as they are no longer chasing down information stored in too many places and are instead focused on the task at hand. COMMUNICATION IS KEY Over time, a long-term relationship between your company and its suppliers allows for exchanging ideas and information. This creates a partnership between the buyers and sellers that has been proven to result in better pricing and faster, on-time deliveries. Using a cloud-based system, all communication from the buyer to the supplier is kept current, tracked, and traced to the project award. Supplier updates are easily added so that everything is current. Searching for suppliers with particular certifications or experience is quick and easy. A single portal streamlines the process and makes it easy to ensure you are asking for the same thing from the companies you are sourcing. It also keeps history intact for future searches. In this environment where staffing SAHIL SHAH President & CEO MESH Inc. ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS: • How to create a culture of partnership between buyers and sellers • Global sourcing requires a comprehensive and audited directory • Minimize risk with data in one portal versus shared documents
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