How to establish relations of mutual benefit with the suppliers
3 November 2009 - 17:22
Many companies usually try to their suppliers like competitors to who it is due to press to them so that they diminish his prices and they accept all demands.
When reducing their prices or accepting the demands of their clients, the suppliers reduce their margins of gains, which in the long run finishes affecting its economy and, for example, in his eagerness to reduce costs, they get to diminish the quality of the products that supply.
On the other hand, if the companies would try to their suppliers like allies, they would support and them so that they are more competitive, the suppliers they would be more efficient in his deliveries, could offer products them of better quality, could be more reliable financially and to offer them to majors payment facilities, could be more flexible and to take care of his needs, etc. better.
Reason why before to try to our suppliers like competitors, we would have to treat them like partners or allies, and to look for to establish a relation of mutual benefit where it is created value and both we win, that is far better to a relation where we we win and they lose.
Some forms to create a relation of mutual benefit with our suppliers:
- to maintain good relations: to treat them courteously, to fulfill the payments precise, to invite them to the activities or events of the company, etc.
- to contact good and coordination: to establish suitable channels of communication, to do the orders ahead of time to him, to anticipate themselves to the problems and to solve them jointly.
- to involve them in the plans of the company: to make him know the objectives the company, design a joint planning, communicate future requirements to him.
- to involve them in them process of the company: to make him know the processes the company, request suggestions to them to be more efficient.
- to encourage them to that they improve his processes: to encourage them to that programs of continuous improvement implement, to help them to that they are more efficient.
- to encourage them to that they improve his products: to encourage them to that majors implement quality controls, to help them in the design of the product.
- to help them to reduce its costs: to communicate to him on some specifications that could change in their products (for example, the measures or sizes), or some accessories of the product which they could do without (for example, unnecessary adornments).
- to establish joint strategies: strategies that allow to share knowledge and resources, and that have like objective obtaining improvements and the development of both.
- to maintain them abreast of the changes of the market: to maintain them abreast of the new needs, preferences or tastes of the consumers.
- to give feedback them: to offer information them on the final consumer, his impressions, opinions, etc.
Like final note, we must indicate that not always he is advisable to look for a relation of mutual benefit with our suppliers, since before we must consider some things, such as the size of the supplier, the number of clients whom it has, if they have the same aspirations of growth that we, if the improvements that they also obtain benefit to our competition.
Labels: Management of businesses
Compártelo
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