Can you share best practices on establishing and implementing Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) with a managed supplier?

We have not yet implemented SRM technology or any automation but do have established processes on how we collaborate with suppliers.

 

Firstly , understand the objectives of what we are trying to achieve

 

High level objectives

·        Improve collaboration with suppliers

·        Improve supplier performance and ability to track supplier performance

·        Factual reporting available to make decision

·        Provide visibility to stakeholders ,customers, suppliers and the like

 

Functional Objectives

·        Ability to have reliable information to make beneficial decisions

·        Track results of collaborative efforts and action required by all parties

·        Ability to measure performance of ourselves and suppliers

·        Ability to review trends on performance

·        Automation of admin tasks and recording

·        Providing visibility quickly to make quick decisions.

 

Best Practices

 

·        Data needs to be centralized and easily available to key stakeholders

·        SRM system should be able to integrate into other systems and measurement tools (ERP/Trading Agreement Tools/etc.)

·        Information should be in  a format that can be easily exported and shared with supplier

·        Supplier/customer portals should not be complex and easy to understand and use

·        The update of data provided on the SRM should be automated as far as possible, manual capture should be limited

·        Support processes required from other systems, people, should be ascertained clearly at inception and built as required

·        Workshops and roadshows should be planned with customers/suppliers and all users of the system.

o   Obtain customer feedback and review how SRM can be aligned to consider customer/supplier/user feedback.

·        Information made public should be cleared with internal stakeholders

·        System processing time with multiple users should be measured ,and reasonable

·        Data audit checks should be built in the process to measure success of data integration points.

·        The automated SRM  is to improve sharing of information with suppliers/customers/users/ and should NOT replace human communication and collaboration.

o   It is an add on to common recurring collaborative efforts.

We have been able to enhance our vendor relationship via the followings. It might give you some food for thoughts.
1. Establish clear mutual goals and expectations, understand their roadmap and also share our roadmap, having different levels of alignment meetings, including Strategic alignment, Tactical alignment, and Operational alignment.
2. Monitor KPIs and track our supplier's performance, such as on-time deliverable, cost-effectiveness, quality outcome, etc.
3. Define clear roles and responsibilities from each side, both from our side and vendor's side, to ensure effective communications and have clear ownership.
4. Vendor visit and face-to-face connection where we enhance our bonding and also have joint on-site activities and take the human aspects into consideration.
5. Classify your vendors in terms of your future intention for collaboration direction - keep, expand or move away, so required activities can be arranged accordingly.