How do you develop and maintain positive and long-term relationships with your key suppliers or partners?

I often say that the basis of everything is respect, including in relation to managing relationships with suppliers. Good supplier relationship management will provide the purchasing company with excellent results in the short, medium and long term. Strategic suppliers need to have a different approach, regular meetings and clearly understand the volumes of business they intend to work with during the period. This information is important and can strengthen the partnership, including evolving into a contract with advantageous terms and conditions, and this can be converted into a competitive advantage in the market.

Show them the same respect you would want, work with them through issues like supply chain demands and outages. Approach them with kindness but let them know the urgent need of product without being threatening.

The first thing is to make sure you both have the same understanding of why you are in business together. This will drive how you manage the relationship, what your contract looks like, how you manage risks and achievements. Then all you and they have to do is deliver on the expectations that are clear and agreed.

It all starts with a conversation with someone, and it happens that the person from the other line can be the problem-solver, so always know that with sincere and polite talk, it will go far and beyond.

Spend time on-site with them to understand how they operate and how you can integrate your business into their daily operations. Making it easier for them to handle your orders can tremendously impact your relationship with them. It could be as simple as providing visuals when asking for a quotation, using a different file format, or just giving a call to review an RFQ. Whatever it is, communication with your suppliers is key. This can significantly influence how they manage your orders, their willingness to assist in emergencies, and even the rates they quote for your projects

If suppliers have a different time zone make sure business meetings are set up according a mutual agreement. Keep holidays and facilities shot downs in your company calendar ?? to have everyone in the loop. Respect the others time off and when you ask them to provide some information or complete a task request for a timeline when it can be done.

Maintaining a transparent communication is an effective session. Communicating companies upcoming changes in processes, product specifications, or demand. This allows them to adapt and plan accordingly. Also be transparent about the terms and conditions in contracts. Clearly outline responsibilities, obligations, and any potential penalties or rewards tied to performance. By maintaining transparency, we create an environment of trust and cooperation, strengthening the foundation of your relationship with key suppliers

Constant, transparent and multichannel communication is essential to build and maintain effective relationship with suppliers. Few items to be noted: - Using multiple channels is useful, although it's necessary to keep records in a single database to avoid losing track. - It's obvious that persons of contact should be changing without preparation, introduction and onboarding. - When there is a chance to meet face-to-face, take the most advantage to deepen relationships. - Take cultural differences seriously, to avoid misunderstands. Prior researches will be helpful.

Clearly define your expectations and requirements. Ensure that your suppliers or partners have a clear understanding of your quality standards, delivery schedules, and performance metrics.

Developing healthy relationships with your suppliers is essential, especially when working on high-stakes projects. But it is not always possible to do this with all your suppliers, when you have a panel of hundreds of companies with which you work. I would recommend : 1) to identify high-stakes projects 2) to list the critical suppliers involved in these projects 3) to build a regular communication strategy with them 4) to communicate on the results and reports of these exchanges internally in order to promote this work and the involvement of suppliers 5) to make a sample of suppliers to whom you turn to better understand the market, its trends and innovations in the sector.

Involving suppliers and gathering their experience is a good idea. Suppliers are often experienced and have dealt with similar issues than yours. Sharing your difficulties will also increase trust and improve collaboration, whenever the communication is open, transparent and fluid.

To strengthen your relationship with your suppliers, it is essential to collaborate and innovate with them. You can do this by involving them in your planning, decision-making, and problem-solving processes, and inviting them to share their ideas, expertise, and best practices. You can also create joint projects, initiatives, or teams to work on common goals, challenges, or opportunities.

One way to recognize the supplier and their contribution to your product is to include them into training sessions of your dealers. This will raise the awareness and recognition of supplier in dealer's eyes and increase the value of your product. But it will also show the supplier that you value them as important part of your product.

Celebrate significant milestones and achievements in the supplier relationship, such as anniversaries, successful project completions, or surpassing performance targets. Recognize and reward suppliers publicly to highlight their accomplishments and inspire others

Recognizion is a good way to show the appreciation to the work of the supplier. The form of recognizion could be earlier involvement in new projects, training sessions, project preparations... of course it is not possible to initiate with all of the suppliers such intensive communication, but for the preferred ones it is possible to slightly open the door.

For a successful win win situation you have to put together a solid strategic plan. Have an internal meeting with your company stakeholders and big players to discuss all assumptions and constraints and analyze the impact of changes. Sometimes some opportunities will come along. Don’t miss the opportunities and don’t be afraid to highlight negative consequences if there are to come along. It’s better if risk is identified in early stages of the project because will be monitored accordingly until the closing phase.

I believe expanding the pie strategy is really helpful in negotiations were supplier relations are important. Look for ways to create additional value rather than just dividing the existing value. This can involve brainstorming new solutions, identifying synergies, or finding complementary strengths. For example, if a supplier can offer better payment terms, you might be able to increase the volume of your orders in return, benefiting both parties.

Se construye buscando objetivos y beneficios colectivos. La transparencia debe ser un pilar para que sea una relación gana-gana en donde prime la comunicación oportuna y asertiva, el cumplimiento en tiempo y forma de los compromisos, el respeto y el poner sobre la mesa con claridad los intereses de cada uno. Esto último resaltado en el sentido que debe buscarse en doble vía llevar la relación comercial a otro nivel en donde la innovación y la creatividad sean claves y no se trate solo de algo transaccional.

Negotiations are the pillar of the business. As in many cases: show them your targets first, communication must be very clear, plan the negotiation in advance by sending agenda and points to cover and give your best. Negotiation is not a war. It should be more like a dance, in which both should find the best way but not jeopardizing each other's targets.

Es importante entender que la relación debe ser transparente, sólida, colaborativa y sostenible y rentable Hay que negociar sobre esos pilares. Eso se construye con paciencia, escucha activa y presencia

Once a contract is signed, now contract management begins. This part is often overlooked due to day to day time constraints, which is a critical mistake. If the contract is simply filed away, the sourcing team disbanded, users left to manage the supplier relationship alone, the objectives and opportunities created from the initiative will erode over time. Procurement has to make the time and manage the new contract, and key suppliers effectively. This can entail a lot of time and effort. Obviously you cannot manage each and every contract or every supplier in great detail. The more critical the category/supplier to your business, the more steps you will utilize.

Supplier Development Programs: Invest in the growth and capabilities of your key suppliers. Collaborate on training programs, share best practices, and provide resources to help them enhance their processes and efficiency.

To develop and maintain positive and long-term relationships with key suppliers or partners, invest in their innovation and development. Foster open communication and transparency to build trust and mutual understanding. Collaborate on joint projects and share technology or resources to drive innovation. Provide training and support to help suppliers improve their processes and capabilities. Establish fair and mutually beneficial contracts, and ensure timely payments. Regularly review performance and provide constructive feedback. Recognize and reward their contributions, and create a partnership culture focused on shared goals and continuous improvement.

Being transparent should be your main focus. Over the long run, your relationship will experience ups and downs, which is normal. Like in any relationship, you need to be open about these fluctuations. Unsatisfied with the quality? Discuss it and try to guide them toward improvement. Chose another supplier for an order? Explain why. Was it the price? The delivery time? Maintain transparency to ensure they don’t feel valued only when the price is right or when no one else answers the call.

Acho que a chave é tratar o fornecedor sempre com respeito e profissionalismo. Mantenha a comunica??o clara e aberta. Trate o fornecedor como parceiro de negócios, n?o como adversário, porque muitas vezes ele pode trazer insights maravilhosos para o que você precisa.