Kronos Group

What you need to know to enjoy effective
supplier relationship management

How do your suppliers support your business success?

The link between your suppliers and your success

Your suppliers play a critical role in the internal operations of your business despite being an external force. 

Ensuring that the relationship between your business and its key suppliers is managed smoothly is paramount to procurement success. 

We understand the vulnerability of procurement operations and supply chains. That said, businesses tend to overcomplicate the processes that mitigate procurement risks.

This is often as easy as developing strong relationships with the various stakeholders in your business. Whether this is between an organisation and its customers or an organisation and its suppliers, the value of personal relationships is often underestimated. 

Supplier relationship management, in particular, helps you build long-lasting relationships with your suppliers. These relationships support your operations, help you achieve greater efficiency, and formulate strategic crisis management and recovery plans. 

Supplier relationship management makes these critical interactions an integral part of your operations. It helps you plan your interactions with your suppliers and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your network. In short, it helps you gain higher value from what your suppliers are offering you. 

Discover how our procurement expertise helps you foster industry-leading supplier relationship management.

Discover how our procurement expertise helps you foster industry-leading supplier relationship management.

    A more straightforward path to powerful supplier relationship management

    Our specialised procurement services help you maintain supply chain operations that sustain business efficiency throughout a crisis.

    Our services include:

    Procurement maturity assessments

    Procurement excellence

    Procurement training

    Spend management platforms

    Procurement outsourcing services

    Spend optimisation

    Targeted procurement expertise

    FAQ

    Supplier relationship management approaches your supplier network as an integral and strategic part of your business activity. 

    By taking this approach, you develop a better understanding of how each of your suppliers supports your organisation and how these relationships can be leveraged and enhanced to deliver greater value. 

    This is an important step for all businesses to take in order to improve their resilience, responsiveness in a volatile market, and strengthen their presence and future in the industry.

    The approach you take to SRM will depend on your business, your goals, and your current supplier network. The general process you follow to make this investment, however, could be as follows:

    • Assess your suppliers and network and identify strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and areas that can be optimised for greater value.
    • Set goals and objectives for your SRM that align with your overall business goals.
    • Leverage digital solutions that improve your supplier communication and overview of your operations.
    • Commit to engaging your suppliers and improving, adapting, and developing your SRM programme over time.

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    Julie Brand

    A part of Kronos Group’s team since 2018, Julie is a leader who has honed her specialisation in business transformation and utilised her expansive financial expertise to power business strategy and add value to what we do. She has amassed experience (Pfizer, Sony, AXA, SMEC, Tradelink) all over the world in strategy, project management, analysis, and supply chain.