Supply Chain Management Review

Robert A. Rudzki

Speaking with One Voice – I
February 22, 2008

Are you frustrated with suppliers who do end runs around your sourcing teams?

Do you wish senior management would stop talking with suppliers, or at least ask you for input on what to say?

Does your supplier always seem to know more about what is happening at your company than you do?

“Speaking with One Voice” is a key success factor in strategic sourcing and supplier relationship management. It’s an important internal discipline, and it doesn’t just happen by itself.

It starts with creating an awareness, throughout your organization, that every conversation with a supplier, no matter how innocent or “technical” it might appear, is part of the overall negotiations process. As a result, procurement professionals – and their internal clients – need to realize that all meetings and conversations should be planned, with clear objectives. All contact points within your company should be identified, and brought into the communications process.

Supply management should have a strategic role identifying, selecting, and managing suppliers. As a result, the supply management organization is the natural leader for creating a “One Voice” discipline in your organization. My next posting will describe some proven success factors in making that happen.

Posted by Robert A. Rudzki on February 22, 2008 | Comments (0)