What do you do if a difficult vendor situation arises and you want to increase your chances of promotion?

First - Communicate. Before going into root cause analysis of the issue, make communication to ease out things first. and the as usual do PDCA for cause and it prevention.

If you come across a difficult vendor scenario where there are hopes for a promotion, take swift action and act properly. Communicate honestly, look for group solutions, and record agreements. Showcase your leadership by putting up risk-reduction plans. Overdeliver on performance goals, ask for feedback, and make an investment in your professional growth. Make connections within the company while demonstrating your honesty, diligence, and adherence to the company's core values.

Impact can be assessed by analysing the specific situation that the vendor is facing. Will their deliveries impact 1. Production output 2. Quality 3. Delivery time 4. Spares and Service 5. Cost 6. Sales 7. Profits 8. Taxation 9. Bilateral pacts between the two countries 10. Business conflict with new ownership of vendor These are the factors which one has to keep in mind. As a person in charge, it is their duty to keep Management informed about the complexities and how you deal with it on a day to day basis. Always discuss your redundancy plans , and keep the approvals in place.

Collaboration is the best approach. Vendors are as important as the water and gas supply lines at your homes. Regular formal interactions with minutes of the meeting recorded is critical. These minutes should be shared within internal stakeholders in the organisation. Both by the vendor and purchasers. The feedback received should once again be addressed together.

The impact of a healthy supply line with the vendor is already understood. The situation at the vendor's place could be related to 1. Finance/Cash Flow/ Working Capital 2. Increase in costs of input material/manpower 3. Investments in capital equipment/ Automation 4. Shifting to another geography 5. A&M - Change of ownership 6. Others Each issue has its unique approach for resolution If expertise is not available in-house then utilise services of professional consultants Strategic solutions should always be planned for a period -Short/Medium/Long term

Ideally sharing information on an integrated ERP system would be ideal. Seamless access to data is critical All correspondence too should be available for accessible on shared folders Standardisation of templates is important Terminology should be indexed after mutual consultation.

Always be a citizen of Industrial associations and chapters Keep your contact list updated with people who use similar vendors And of Vendors who provide similar products and services Create forums for discussing matters of common concern. Invite experts to educate and update. Encourage visits to each others factories/offices Learn from each other Add value to each other Competition is a reality. Businesses have to fight it out. But, that should never stop you from having excellent relationships with each other It is critical to also meet policy makers and use their offices

The 3 Questions that you should ask yourself after every important meeting/discussion 1. Was that all that I wanted as an outcome of this discussion 2. What else could I have targeted to take away from this meeting 3. How could I have prepared better for this meeting

Always spend time with your internal customers, your interdependent departments. Walk a mile in their shoes to understand their needs better Always offer your thoughts and suggestions to your internal customers, which you believe would improve their efficiency, quality and output Be well known in your organisation to be an excellent listener. This tribe is almost vanishing.