Blogs from Maine Pointe

Restore Customer-Supplier Relationships Through Procurement Excellence

Written by Maine Pointe | Sep 21, 2015 4:00:00 AM

Procurement is always facing new challengesThese include increased global competition, unpredictable external factors and an increased expectation that organizations will have mature sustainability practices in place. To mitigate these pressures, and stay ahead of the competition, companies need to develop best-in-class procurement practices with the ability to rapidly respond to market shifts. So what happens when your organization is hit by a crisis that threatens its customer-supplier relationships?

4 Steps to rebuilding customer-supplier trust

Trust is the fundamental building block of any successful customer-supplier relationship. If your standing with your customers and suppliers has been damaged or severed, you can rebuild it through the competence of your operations, products and services. Consider taking the following steps:

  1. Discuss and discover the root of the problem with existing suppliers and customers and develop a sustainable and repeatable plan to put things right.
  2. Identify any 'quick wins' that can drive immediate cash impact to your bottom line and, at the same time, benefit your new and existing customer-supplier relationships.
  3. Gain access to new markets and suppliers who can provide your existing product at an equal or lower price on a sustainable basis.
  4. Develop and implement a strategic procurement organization with world-class procurement policies and procedures and openly engage your customer-supplier communities with a 'new identity'.

Maine Pointe helped a Geosynthetic Linings Manufacturer that was emerging from bankruptcy to develop world-class procurement capabilities and achieve a ROI of 4.6:1.

Read more....

As specialists in procurement, logistics and operations, we know that there are cost savings to be found almost everywhere in the key areas of your value chain. Not only that, we have the experience, methodology and capability to deliver significant savings and help clients move up the maturity curve to achieve Total Value Optimization™.