“Building Deep Supplier Relationships”
Written on 5:26 PM by Shaun Hutchings
“Building Deep Supplier Relationships”
By Jeffery K. Liker and Thomas Y. Choi
Summarize the six-step process that the authors of 'Building Deep Supplier Relationships' advocate as the best way to building effective supplier relationships.
Conduct joint improvement activities:
-Start and run kaizen (continuous improvement) projects at the suppliers’ facilities
-Set up Supplier Study Groups
-Open up a channel where you can exchange best practices with suppliers
Share information intensively but selectively:
-Share information in a structured fashion
-Set specific times, places, and agendas for meetings
-Use rigid formats for sharing information
-Insist on accurate data collection
Develop suppliers’ technical capabilities
-Develop a common lexicon
-Build suppliers’ problem-solving skills
-Prefect core suppliers’ innovation capabilities
Supervise your suppliers
-Get all the senior managers involved in the problem solving process
-Make and send monthly report cards to important suppliers
-Always provide immediate and constant feedback
Turn supplier rivalry into opportunity
-Source each component from two or three vendors
Create compatible production philosophies and systems
-Set up joint ventures with existing suppliers to transfer knowledge and maintain control
Understand how your suppliers work
-Go and see for yourself how suppliers work
-It is good to respect suppliers’ capabilities
-Commit to co-prosperity
-Learn about suppliers’ business
©2010, Shaun Hutchings, All Rights Reserved.
If you enjoyed this post Subscribe to our feed
