Description

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This book provides practical guidance on the knowledge and skills required for managers whose role involves the management of the relationship with and the performance of strategically important suppliers.

Strategic suppliers provide critical products and services to their clients. In a production environment, if the supply chain for critical components breaks down and delivery dates are missed, the production line may stop. If an IT supplier fails to deliver key system development projects on time, the implications for the business can be catastrophic. With the growth of outsourcing, where entire business functions are delegated to a supplier, the dependency on them is further increased; with offshoring there are additional complexities. An organization's ability to manage its strategic supplier base effectively is central to its performance, competitiveness, and future success.

This book provides practical guidance on the knowledge and skills required for managers whose role involves the management of the relationship with and the performance of strategically important suppliers. Although the focus is on the management of suppliers during the live relationship, the approach is holistic as the entire supplier management process is discussed in detail using a Supplier Lifecycle model. There are five stages-identify the business requirement, research the supply market, carry out procurement and supplier selection, integrate and transition to the new supplier and their services, and manage the delivery of the products and services for the contracted period.

About the Author

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Richard Moxham is a training consultant working in the specialist area of supplier management skills development. Sensing that for many managers the move from leading in-house teams to managing external suppliers is a challenge, he works in developing and facilitating learning workshops on this topic for corporate and public sector clients. Before moving into consultancy and training, his business career was in sales and marketing, followed by time in operations management, where he gained experience managing technology suppliers. His employment was mainly with U.S.-owned multinationals, including Nielsen, Proctor and Gamble, Xerox, and Commerce Clearing House Inc.