Supplier management

Home > Business > Supply chain management > Supplier management

The management of relationships with suppliers to ensure stable, reliable delivery of goods and services.

Supplier evaluation: This involves assessing suppliers' capability to meet an organization's requirements in terms of quality, delivery, cost, and other important parameters.
Supplier selection: This includes choosing suppliers who will help an organization achieve its objectives in terms of cost, quality, quantity, and timeliness.
Supplier performance management: This involves managing and measuring the performance of suppliers using metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Supplier development: This involves working with suppliers to help them improve their processes and capabilities to meet an organization's needs.
Supplier relationship management: This includes managing and developing relationships with suppliers to achieve better collaboration, communication, and risk management.
Contract negotiation and management: This involves negotiating and managing contracts with suppliers to ensure that they meet an organization's requirements.
Supplier risk management: This entails identifying and managing risks associated with suppliers, including risks related to quality, capacity, delivery, and sustainability.
Supplier sustainability: This involves managing suppliers' environmental, social, and economic impact on an organization, its stakeholders, and the wider world.
Supply chain transparency: This includes ensuring visibility and transparency throughout the supply chain to promote ethical and sustainable practices.
Supply chain optimization: This involves optimizing the supply chain to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance quality, delivery, and customer service.
Strategic supplier management: A proactive approach to selecting and managing key suppliers with long-term relationships in mind.
Operational supplier management: Day-to-day interactions with suppliers, including procurement, negotiations, contracts, and performance management.
Transactional supplier management: Focus on buying the right quantities and quality of goods or services at the right price from suppliers.
Collaborative supplier management: Increased collaboration in supply chain operations, including product development, planning, and fulfillment.
Joint venture supplier management: Working with suppliers to develop shared goals and investments in joint ventures to increase mutual benefits.
Outsourced supplier management: Outsourcing non-core processes and functions to third-party suppliers who specialize in those areas.
Green supplier management: Managing suppliers to ensure they meet environmental standards and reduce environmental impact.
Service supplier management: Managing service providers to ensure high-quality service delivery to customers.
International supplier management: Managing suppliers located in different countries with different cultures, languages, and legal systems.
Risk management: Identifying and mitigating risks that could negatively impact the supply chain or suppliers, such as natural disasters or financial instability.
Innovative supplier management: Encouraging suppliers to develop innovative solutions that can add value to customers' businesses or products.
"Supplier relationship management (SRM) is the systematic, enterprise-wide assessment of suppliers' strengths, performance and capabilities with respect to overall business strategy [...] to maximize the value realized through those interactions."
"The focus of supplier relationship management is the development of two-way, mutually beneficial relationships with strategic supply partners."
"Underpinning disciplines which support effective SRM include supplier information management, compliance, risk management, and performance management."
"The objective of SRM is to maximize the value of those interactions."
"In practice, SRM entails creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers in order to uncover and realize new value and reduce risk of failure."
"SRM is a critical discipline in procurement and supply chain management and is crucial for business success."
"SRM is analogous to customer relationship management (CRM)."
"These various interactions with suppliers are not discrete and independent – instead, they are accurately and usefully thought of as comprising a relationship."
"Negotiating contracts, purchasing, managing logistics and delivery, collaborating on product design, etc."
"To maximize the value realized through those interactions."
"Deliver greater levels of innovation and competitive advantage than could be achieved by operating independently or through a traditional, transactional purchasing arrangement."
"Assessment of suppliers' strengths, performance and capabilities with respect to overall business strategy."
"Underpinning disciplines which support effective SRM include supplier information management, compliance, risk management, and performance management."
"Planning and execution of all interactions with suppliers, in a coordinated fashion across the relationship life cycle."
"The development of two-way, mutually beneficial relationships with strategic supply partners."
"SRM is a critical discipline in procurement and supply chain management."
"Managed in a coordinated fashion across functional and business unit touch-points, and throughout the relationship life-cycle."
"A recognition that these various interactions with suppliers are not discrete and independent."
"Creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers [...] to reduce risk of failure."
"Underpinning disciplines which support effective SRM include supplier information management, compliance, risk management, and performance management."