Every buyer faces extreme complexity due to the diversity of supplier relationships, stakeholders, events, and so on. To avoid getting overwhelmed, it’s important to manage your suppliers methodically and, if possible, with dedicated tools that will allow you to improve your responsiveness, decision-making, and profitability. This is known as SRM, or Supplier Relationship Management.
Moreover, nowadays, quality systems impose continuous improvement processes which make this management and monitoring essential.
Supplier relationship management: processes and tools for managing performance
After establishing supplier segmentation, which forms the basis of purchasing strategies by category, comes the operational phase, where performance must be monitored and continuously improved. However, given the limited time available to a buyer, it’s essential to focus on targeted relationships, generally with strategic and/or critical suppliers. This necessitates a comprehensive monitoring plan, allocated according to available purchasing resources and involving key internal stakeholders, as supplier relations are clearly not solely the buyer’s responsibility. The Purchasing department is responsible for managing this supplier relationship management system.
Managing performance primarily involves establishing assessments and indicators, followed by regular monitoring (analysis and decision-making) of these. To achieve this, the system must be based on clearly identified areas of value creation for purchasing: cost optimization, business optimization, process and productivity optimization, flexibility and speed optimization, risk management, etc.
Managing your supplier panel effectively
Once your list of suppliers (called panel or target portfolio) has been established and your evaluation criteria defined, the next step is to assign a status to each one.
For example:
• P for “On the Panel” for high-performing suppliers;
• N for “New” for suppliers undergoing qualification;
• S for “Suspended” for suppliers in the probationary phase, during which all new business is prohibited;
• E for “Removed from the Panel” for a supplier with whom we no longer wish to work
Defining a supplier status is the concrete expression of the purchasing policy for the relevant category and improves internal consistency in communication between different stakeholders regarding the supplier. The decision, expressed as a status, is clear, publicized, shared, and transparent, even if the decision itself can be a source of internal conflict. Conversely, it is evident that control over the supplier panel (decisions regarding entry or exit) is a fundamental element of the operational implementation of the strategy.
To ensure that the panel is respected, it is sometimes necessary to make it mandatory for each new supplier to be validated by the purchasing department, i.e. to integrate into the company’s ERP a supplier status controlled by purchasing.
Track performance: scorecard and dashboard
The scorecard is a “supplier profile” dedicated to a supplier relationship within the SRM program and intended for internal management and the supplier. The number of criteria varies depending on the stakes and criticality. The tool is effective over time and requires some effort in implementation and monitoring. The scorecard will include the key elements of performance:
• Quality (number and type of incidents, audit results)
• Logistics (percentage of deliveries on time/quantity…)
• Costs (price trends, costs of non-quality…)
• Optionally
• Projects (deadlines met)
• Service (responsiveness, number of proposals…)
The dashboard is a summary tool that allows you to track the entire SRM program. It also includes indicators for key purchasing categories. It is intended for senior internal management.
Scorecard and dashboard should be updated regularly (annually, semi-annually or quarterly, sometimes monthly depending on the issues and risks).