Print This ArticleMost businesses, by this time, have recognized that their suppliers are critical to their success. They have gone beyond early supply chain practices that were focused only on cost reduction to involve suppliers in more and more aspects of value creation. Many firms now invest in “best customer practices” that enable them to effectively collaborate with their suppliers and achieve shared successes. Given that the typical manufacturer today relies on suppliers for about half of the cost structure of its products, such outreach to suppliers is quite sensible.
But all too often, the teams responsible for major implementation projects try to “do it themselves”, without bringing key suppliers into the process. That approach misses a major opportunity for contributions. We have seen many examples of supplier contributions to implementation projects that go far beyond simply sharing the workload.
One contribution that can be important is that of bringing new ideas to the implementation plan. Suppliers typically work with a variety of customers, often from various industries, and often with a different structure to the collaboration between them. Such differences in experiences and in the roles and boundaries are frequently a fertile source of ideas that can be of value in developing an implementation plan.
We frequently recount a story told by a customer, contrasting their experiences with two suppliers in the context of implementing a product enhancement:
“We all had a lot at stake with this product and were surprised when a performance issue surfaced. We had two suppliers at this point, and expected [Supplier A] to say “What can we do to help?” Instead they said “We recommend you go back to the drawing boards.” This was communicated at upper management levels first, which really caused havoc with our technical team. Money was on the table and careers were at stake – they just didn’t understand the seriousness of what we needed to have done. One of our engineers talked to [Supplier B]. It turned out that they had faced a very similar problem with one of their customers in Europe, and they flew in two engineers who spent a month with us and got the problem resolved.”
Beyond showcasing the difference between the best suppliers and the also-rans, this story illustrates the benefits that can emerge from supplier involvement. The diverse experiences of suppliers are often a source of insights and “been there, done that” solutions to problems that may otherwise be difficult to solve. While not the only reason for bringing key suppliers onto the implementation project team, the potential of learning lessons from other environments is a strong motivation on its own.
