Why is effective supplier management growing in importance for organisations?

There are two key drivers for this.

• A realisation that effective management of the supply side of the business can provide real productivity gains as well as reducing complexity, time and costs.
• The increasing use of outsourcing in many businesses. More and more companies are making the decision "if it is not a core business activity, let's outsource it". Outsourcing as a key element of business strategy is becoming more important.

What are the implications for managers?

Strategic sourcing, legal and risk assessment functions are usually involved in the setting up of formal contracts with key suppliers. However, the management of the live contract is typically the responsibility of the operational manager, who may find themselves in need of a whole new skillset as the services provided by the supplier become increasingly business critical and complex.

How can we contribute to the training and development of people in a supplier management role?

We have experience in working with many organisations in manufacturing, business services, banking and other functional service sectors to improve the way they engage with their suppliers and achieve optimum value from their relationships. Using this experience and an established framework, we can design and deliver a customer designed learning programme for people in your business involved in supplier management.