Supplier vs Partner

I had a great 20 minutes with Tina Fegent for a recent episode of the Movidiam Creative Leaders podcast.  We lightly touched on Supplier vs Partner... episode being released very soon, watch this space.

It’s emotional. Why?  ‘Supplier’ feels perfunctory, a commodity. It does not reflect the value that is brought to the table, especially as creative services are unique and those that deliver them are empowered by our identity and the unique combination of stardust and water. There is often more to it than the job or the money - it’s about the people, the experience, the learning, the work, the impact.  The impact is especially important to the generations coming into the ‘workplace’ (a misnomer) that are going to need to have to create a significant impact to solve some of the challenges that are facing humanity - mere ‘suppliers’ aren't going to do that!

A partner is integrated into your business, your team, trusted, aligned - you chat with them on WhatsApp, not just email and the landline.  It is a purely semantic layover from the industrial era of production but as we are changing gear into the fourth industrial age, is it not about time we reviewed the language or even shifted to an emoji ?? !!!  In doing so I’m sure the habits and attitudes to the disposable roster of suppliers would change - and with that comes opportunity growth and aligned successful outcomes.

If the connection economy has shown us anything, it is that niche at scale is a real thing. Think eBay or Etsy - companies can tap into this value as well as consumers.  Using dated terms that simply package vast groups of diverse and dynamic people hardly inspires the uniqueness that is desperately needed in the ongoing ‘battle of the algorithms'. Everyday Brands looking for partnership visit Movidiam to build teams to create impact, check it out here.