Supplier management is essential for a company, as it is directly linked to the success of the final product and customer satisfaction. This relationship must be based on meeting deadlines and commitments, among many other factors.
To ensure everything goes as expected, you need to learn to deal with unexpected events and always consider strategic planning. Therefore, good management involves choosing criteria to evaluate suppliers, for example.
So, want to learn more about the importance of supplier management and how to best implement it? Keep reading to find out!
It consists of supply chain management, a process that includes selection, analysis, monitoring, and defining supplier types, etc. All of this is essential for the business to achieve successful decision-making results.
Even though supplier management is essential for business, it has been and still is treated by many as a secondary activity.
Fortunately, just like the benefits of investing in online marketing, more and more corporations realize that the current scenario is different. Therefore, supplier management becomes an essential strategic action.
After all, ensuring an adequate supply of raw materials and other customer demands reduces and/or eliminates failures to offer greater quality and satisfaction to the consumer.
For example, with good management, you avoid running out of the most popular items. stock, which can frustrate consumers and drive them to the competition. Likewise, it prevents products with lower demand from becoming stranded.
Furthermore, supplier management can achieve better deadlines and prices and reduce costs unnecessary, which only distance the company from the competitive race. This way, it's also possible to create bolder goals for the corporation's advancement.
As mentioned, maintaining a good relationship with suppliers is crucial. So, here are some tips to put it into practice!
Accurate information about the company's objectives enables supplier management planning to be established, creating achievable goals. This is because contact with suppliers is directly related to the purchasing and finance departments, among other areas.
Therefore, analyze the type of product or service offered, the market in which it operates, customer needs, available resources, and the competition. Using this information, compare it to the data obtained in each business sector.
For example, imagine that the finance department signals that the corporation's goal needs to be cost reductionTherefore, supplier management must focus on negotiating lower prices and better payment terms.
Furthermore, the sector of company sales failed to achieve optimistic results, signaling that goals must include customer satisfaction. In this case, management should focus on ensuring that suppliers deliver products and services aligned with customer expectations.
Ensuring that all business sectors have organized processes is essential to helping achieve goals and objectives. This includes everything from recruiting new team members to sourcing raw materials or services.
This makes it easier to identify areas for improvement and manage suppliers appropriately. For example, in the finance sector, processes need to be organized to increase the accuracy and reliability of the information generated.
This directly affects supplier management, as the relationship is based on a financial exchange. Similarly, have clear processes for recruitment, selection, training, and development. employees to organize the Human Resources sector.
This practice is important because HR can assist with supplier selection, training, performance evaluation, and crisis management. Additionally, other corporate segments, such as marketing and sales, can assist with this internal organization.
There are some evaluation criteria—which vary from company to company—that can be used to analyze the effectiveness of your suppliers. Let's look at some examples below.
Ideally, your suppliers should be flexible when negotiating payment methods, quantity of products purchased, and specification terms.
Delays to the point of leaving stocks out lead to loss of opportunities of sale. So, make sure that if delays occur, they are not recurring.
Research the suppliers' history in the market and references from other companies.
THE relationship with suppliers should be based on reciprocal benefits, the so-called "win-win." This way, it is easier to ensure compliance with agreements and the continuity of the partnership.
A good relationship is important because the company has frequent contact with them, as they are responsible for supplying raw materials and enabling the business to run smoothly. Therefore, the better the relationship, the greater the chances of competitive pricing, shorter delivery times, and flexibility in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
To achieve these goals, you can, for example, provide constructive feedback, such as genuinely praising them for good work. It's also important to offer suggestions if appropriate, signaling that suppliers can grow through your partnership.
Another recommendation is to establish clear objectives that will be achieved with the support of suppliers and share this information with them. This way, they can join the cause and help the company achieve its goals, becoming a success story. Also, communicate your plans so that suppliers can organize themselves.
Above all, efficient supplier management cannot fail to maintain a communication effective. From this point on, resolving other eventualities becomes easier and negotiations become more flexible.
After all, partners are essential to ensuring that corporate expectations are met efficiently and on time. For example, is the goal to increase profits by 10% in the next 10 months? Be clear and precise to assess whether this is possible or whether it's better to reformulate plans.
Another recommendation is to record communication with suppliers, including dates, people involved, content, times, etc. This is important as evidence in case a future problem arises, and to analyze what may have gone wrong in communication to avoid repeating the error.
Now you know how to effectively manage suppliers to improve your relationships. So, the next step is to find the best ones. Stay tuned!
One advantage of this type of research is that it facilitates the search for positive or negative feedback from customers, a decisive factor in understanding the quality of the products and services offered.
For example, you can search for suppliers' names on the Reclame Aqui portal to track potential customer complaints and how suppliers responded to criticism. See if consumers were left unanswered and if reviews indicate they would do business again.
You can obtain this information by requesting recommendations from other companies similar to yours. This way, in addition to contact information, you'll receive more detailed feedback to assess whether the supplier is quality and trustworthy.
It's often possible to obtain this information even from competitors. Therefore, it's recommended not to question prices and specific negotiation conditions, as these are sensitive information for both them and their suppliers.
Online or in-person events related to your business are beneficial for networking, whether with companies in the same segment or with suppliers. This makes it easier to develop partnerships. So, keep an eye out for trade shows, workshops, courses, lectures, and trade fairs.
You can suggest an evaluation with the suppliers you're considering before closing a deal. This is an opportunity to analyze the quality of their products, how they adapt to unexpected circumstances, how they meet deadlines, and so on. This will help you choose the one that best aligns with your needs and expectations.
Another recommendation before closing a deal is to ask suppliers for customer references. Then, you can contact them to assess their level of satisfaction with the products and services offered, as well as any other comments you'd like to make.
After all, remember when we said that suppliers can work hard to help customers meet their targets if they stay on top of them? Asking whether other customers have experienced this is important to understand the level of supplier commitment.
Think about what you consider essential in a supplier, such as price, quality, deadlines, etc. These criteria help you filter and choose the supplier that best suits your company's interests and needs.
As we've seen, supplier management involves a number of variables. As challenging as it may be to put all these tips into practice, the positive results achieved make it worthwhile. Grupo Aço Cearense has 40 years in the steel industry and 16,000 active customers, making it an attractive option for you to evaluate and request references.
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