CPO Rising has been actively publishing thought leadership, technology analysis, and supply management best practices for many years and the result has been a steady stream of valuable content that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. To help our readers keep better track of our ideas on certain topics, we’ve developed a new series in which we will feature a sampling of impactful insights and recent articles on the topics that matter most to CPOs and other procurement executives (Note that readers can also search different categories by clicking on “Articles” found in the blue menu bar directly under the CPO Rising logo or by searching “Tags” under the sponsor logos on the right hand navigation bar). We’ll start with Strategic Sourcing topics as we are now hard at work on our annual report on this topic….

4 Supplier Management Articles You Should Read

1. Supplier Performance Management: The Fourth Strategic Sourcing Pillar

From our article entitled, Supplier Performance Management: The Fourth Strategic Sourcing Pillar: Supplier Performance Management (“SPM”) programs help enterprises rate and grade a supplier’s performance across all aspects of its products, services, and contractual obligations. Standardized processes help drive efficiencies and enable teams to leverage knowledge and best practices across business lines while users of automated SPM systems can develop supplier surveys and scorecards that track performance and collaborate with internal stakeholders and suppliers to improve performance. SPM can help better manage current operations and it can play a key role in evaluating incumbent bids by adding context during a new sourcing project. A clear view of supplier performance can help procurement departments find the best supplier partners for future contracts and investment in innovation projects. In turn, performance feedback that helps suppliers improve their business can serve as a powerful incentive for a supplier to invest in the relationship. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

2. What Buyers Should Know about Supplier Relationship Management: One Supplier’s Take

From our article entitled, What Buyers Should Know about Supplier Relationship Management: One Supplier’s Take: For procurement and sourcing teams, collaborating with suppliers, effectively communicating business needs, and building and maintaining supplier relationships are critical and often overlooked parts of the strategic sourcing process. While we generally view supplier relationships from the perspective of the Chief Procurement Officer and other sourcing and procurement leaders on the buy side, it is also important to understand the suppliers’ perspective so that procurement can better understand their suppliers’ wants, needs, and challenges and ultimately improve the buying process for all stakeholders .It is with this in mind that we recently interviewed a supplier – Mr. Anthony Buonocore, President and Owner of Westway Electric Supply, a mid-market distributor of electrical supplies based just outside of Philadelphia – about the importance of buyer-supplier relationships, collaboration, and communication. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

3. Skills for the Modern Procurement Pro – Supplier Performance Management

From our article entitled, Skills for the Modern Procurement Pro – Supplier Performance Management: Supplier performance management is the process used to track and ultimately improve supplier performance by measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) and enabling collaboration with internal stakeholders and suppliers. Supplier performance, like quality, is something that can be quantifiable and highly subjective at the same time. Like quality, the components of performance are highly dependent on the situation, the supplier, and the good or service provided. And, of course, like quality, there are thousands of sources for information on supplier performance and how it should be graded and then incorporated into future supplier negotiations. Sourcing teams can certainly use supplier performance evaluations to make smarter sourcing decisions, but they can also use this process to improve the quality of future supplier contracts (e.g., What SLAs should be included in a contract? What were the most important factors used in evaluating supplier performance and are they reflected in the contract?) and improve supplier communication and relationships (e.g., What did we just learn that we can share during the sourcing process to better define our requirements? How can we build upon what worked in the past and improve upon what did not?). Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

4. Taking a 360° Approach to Supplier Management

From our article entitled, Taking a 360° Approach to Supplier Management: Ardent Partners has just published a new report focused on Supplier Management. The fact is that while meeting suppliers is not particularly difficult, finding the rights ones and managing them well is. Heightened volatility in a market that has become increasingly global and increasingly complex means that businesses are more reliant upon their suppliers than ever before. For many procurement organizations, particularly those that are more mature, the greatest opportunities to drive near-term value occur within the supplier management process. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Chief Procurement Officer, Collaboration, CPO, Process, Supplier Performance Management, Supplier Relationship Management, Suppliers