For some time now Old Street Labs has been discussing the importance of procurement teams reimagining their commercial relationships. We believe that to unlock the value, innovation and to better manage the risks within our supply chains we first need readdress the way we engage with our our suppliers.
Combative relationships need to become collaborative.
Rather than arguing over price and service levels, we need to lift the nature of conversation we have with our suppliers up a level. Doing so allows us to create an environment of trust where innovation and new ideas can flourish.
It’s true that the rhetoric around ‘moving beyond cost savings’ has raged on for years already, but at Old St Labs we are seeing tangible example of our clients overhauling their strategic relationships both internally and with their suppliers. By creating an environment of trust and collaboration and moving beyond traditional procurement practices and metrics we have seen the birth of new innovative initiatives that have delivered remarkable results.
Our latest research outlines the six strategic steps that organisations need to take from a governance perspective in order to start reaping these benefits.
The paper addresses the following key topics.
- Establish a Statement of Intent
- Define ‘How We Work Together’
- Implement Governance Circles
- Create an Issue Resolution process
- Secure Continuity of Resources
- Establish a Communication Protocol
The benefits of a value (rather than cost) based approach to procurement are well documented. But the path to delivering this goal is not an easy one.
As Peter Drucker said “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes … but no plans.” It’s governance that takes these ‘promises and hopes’ and turns them into a sustainable, repeatable reality. Even the strongest, most effective theoretical models and frameworks are worthless without a structured system of governance to support them.
If you are looking to get more from your commercial engagements, download our latest research on the topic today or reach out to me directly for a chat.
The post New Research – Governance in Collaborative Supplier Relationships. appeared first on Vizibl.
