5 Tips to Improve Alignment in Supplier Relationships for Nonprofit Success

Supplier Management is an important aspect of nonprofit work to execute on your mission. That said, its importance can often take a backseat to the endless meetings, action items, and daily fires that can arise. However, when executed effectively, it can preempt many challenges and keeps the focus on achieving your nonprofit's mission. In this article, we will discuss five tips to improving alignment between your nonprofit organization and your suppliers.

1. Work Towards Win-Win Solutions

Irrespective of your relationship type with suppliers—whether strategic, tactical, or transactional—the ultimate goal should be a win-win for both parties. If your nonprofit prioritizes its goals without considering the supplier's situation, it can strain the relationship. Similarly, if the supplier doesn't support your nonprofit's objectives when it's feasible for them, it weakens the partnership.

With this in mind, how can you drive to win-win solutions? Look at the goals for your organization and determine the priority items that will lead toward achieving your mission. Reflect on the goals of your supplier and listen to their concerns. If one of your goals conflicts with their concerns, brainstorm together a different approach that can help you accomplish the goal without negatively impacting their ability to support the suppliers customer base. Together you can determine a compromise that benefits both parties — a win-win solution.

2. Establish Clear Expectations

Unclear expectations leads to frustration and missed goals. Being clear up-front with your suppliers can ensure that both parties are on the same page before the engagement begins. But, that isn’t where communication should stop. Communicating regularly with your suppliers allows them to course correct when needed without damaging the relationship. It allows them to understand what is important to your organization in changing times to support your mission in an agile way.

Without regular communication, both parties are left with assumptions of what the other is expecting or going to accomplish in a certain time period. These assumptions can lead to failed projects or engagements. Communicate assumptions, expectations, and requirements regularly to reduce the friction in the relationship and improve alignment.

3. Align on Vision

When selecting suppliers, opt for those whose vision aligns with your nonprofit's. Shared goals make collaboration smoother, even during challenging times.

Collaborating with suppliers whose vision doesn't match yours can breed distrust if their choices conflict with your nonprofit's vision. For example, if your nonprofit is committed to environmental impact, partnering with a supplier with differing values might lead to choices that challenge your organization's integrity. Working with like-minded suppliers reduces such risks and promotes joint efforts towards shared goals.

4. Utilize Data for Alignment

Measuring the right things for your organization will help to drive clear expectations. Defining performance measures upfront and walking through them regularly with the supplier not only improves communication, but can focus the conversation on what matters for your nonprofit.

During performance reviews, leverage data to drive the communication. This can enable direct, fact-based discussion about adherence to expectations that were aligned beforehand. This type of approach shifts toward objective conversations which can keep relationships intact, even when difficult conversations are necessary.

5. Embrace Technology

Leveraging technology to create alignment in your supplier relationships can improve the daily processes of engaging with suppliers. While there are many options such as e-commerce, contract management systems, supplier relationship management systems, or enhancing capabilities through automation, predictive analytics, or AI and machine learning, it is all about what makes sense for your organization, your goals, and your relationships with suppliers.

Leveraging technology can empower teams to achieve goals and deliver better solutions than were once considered possible. Apply the aspects of technology that can help your business flourish working together with your supply base to make your nonprofit's vision a reality.