What is Supplier Relationship Management?
Robert Menard, Certified Purchasing Professional, Certified Professional Purchasing Consultant, Certified Green Purchasing Professional
In doing research for a new online course, I consulted Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) . This is a subscriber site so the full text may not be available to non subscribers. If you do not subscribe, add this periodical to your required reading list. We all have plenty to read and I would not burden you with idle recommendations. SCMR is a good source of high end treatment of business concepts.
Each edition has several feature stories, some of which have more or leas appeal to the reader. The September/October 2012 edition contains a feature story entitled “ALLIANCE MANAGEMENT: Engaging Suppliers the Right Way”
Alliance Management is defined in the story as a higher level of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). It says that according to the Institute for Supply Management , “supplier relationship management refers to the practice and processes for interacting with suppliers” and is essentially “a one way communication channel – that is, from the buyer who conveys direction, control, and information to the supplier.”
SCMR Sept/Oct 2012
The author, Bob Engel of Resources Global Professionals goes on to state that Alliance Management is one of collaboration where “both buyer and seller jointly engage in reducing overhead, cutting costs, simplifying business processes, and improving the alliance to ensure growth.” Other than this minor differentiation for marketing purpose, the story is well written and clear in its prescription of cogent points.
Any practicing purchasing professional seriously engaged in SRM knows all about the mutual collaboration and broad two lane boulevard of exchange between customer and supplier.
It would be inappropriate to cite much more of the copyrighted story except to say that it is worth your time and attention. I’ll be asking folks in Linkedin groups about their experiences and practices (or the lack of) in the near future. Meanwhile, I’d like to hear your comments. Please send an email to me at RobertMenard@RobertMenard.com