Jeremy Ferrer
Webinar :
L'Intelligence Artificielle dans les achats
Mardi 29 Octobre 2024 à 11h
The supplier relationship is the set of interactions between a company and its suppliers. This includes managing relationships with existing suppliers, as well as finding and integrating new potential suppliers. Supplier relationship management is crucial to ensure an adequate supply of high-quality products and services at the lowest possible cost.
It seems that negotiating cannot be learned, that one is (born?) Buyer or not. However, the Buyer remains less equipped than his sales colleague, who uses a powerful CRM system.
Why wouldn't Purchasing have access to a management tool Supplier relationship ?
Just like the marketing function, the supplier relationship management is one of the main missions of the Purchasing function. While this company has an arsenal of tools that help it improve its efficiency, including CRM, the purchasing department is even less armed today. However, a good relationship with suppliers is essential to ensure the viability of the business. It should not be forgotten that suppliers are real partners for the company.
What if we had the purchasing department test a CRM system dedicated to buyers? Dear Purchasing Managers, imagine the possibilities that such a solution can offer, especially if you are drowned out by Achats Spots requests and administrative tasks within your company!
The CRM. Customer Relationship Management, or customer relationship management, is a tool that was originally developed to optimize the relationship between a company and its customers. However, it can also be used to effectively manage the supplier relationship. By adopting a supplier CRM, a company can centralize and organize all information relating to its suppliers, such as contact details, contracts, invoices, etc. This allows for better visibility and more effective management of the relationship with suppliers. Using a supplier CRM offers numerous advantages. First of all, it makes contact management easier by bringing all the necessary information together in one place. This allows sales teams to easily access supplier information and be better informed when negotiating and making decisions. In addition, a supplier CRM makes it possible to automate certain tasks such as order tracking, payments, and claims, which saves time and optimizes processes. In addition, a supplier CRM makes it possible to improve collaboration between the various stakeholders in the company. Sales, procurement, and finance teams can work together seamlessly through shared access to supplier information. This promotes better coordination and faster decision making.
Supplier relationship management is one of the main tasks that the buyer must take care of. As the name suggests, the supplier relationship is the relationship that exists between a company and its various suppliers. It is a collaborative relationship that is essentially financial, but can also have a lot of impact on the good development of the company. A poor supplier relationship can have negative consequences on business activity.
The relationship between the buyer and the supplier must be based on trust and equality. It must be based on the trust that each party places in the other. On the one hand, the buyer is confident that the supplier will deliver the goods ordered to him according to the conditions (quality, quantity and price) and within the agreed deadlines. On the other hand, the supplier trusts that the buyer makes the payment according to the terms of the contract.
The objective of the supplier relationship is the control of costs and agreements reached with the supplier.
Suppliers and subcontractors are full-fledged partners for the company. In the same way as customers, they participate in the company's results. Indeed, without suppliers, it becomes difficult for the company to source raw materials or inputs that are essential to its business. However, without these products, it is impossible for him to produce. Without production, there will also be no products to sell, which means no customer. Without a customer, the business will go bankrupt. It is for all these reasons that it is essential for a company to maintain a good relationship with its suppliers.
We can distinguish three types of issues in the purchaser-supplier relationship:
A good supplier relationship management has advantages both for the company and for the supplier itself.
For the company, the first advantage of a good relationship with the supplier is to improve communication with it. However, good communication promotes the good flow of information. By having access to information on time, the supplier is in a position to meet the needs and expectations of the business. For its part, the company has a better knowledge of the supplier. This makes it easier for them to choose the best supplier.
A good supplier relationship management also allows the company to adapt continuously to the market and to offer competitive prices.
Finally, a healthy supplier relationship is important to create a solid and lasting relationship. This is important for the successful development of the company.
The advantages for the supplier or the subcontractor are also important. By maintaining a good relationship with the companies or organizations with which he works, he can better understand their needs and put forward more suitable offers. It gives them a competitive edge.
Thus, a good purchaser-supplier relationship is important, as it leads to better satisfaction for both parties.
Selling and buying are the two fundamental pillars of a business.
However, businesses have always attached more importance to sales than to purchases. This situation is explained by the fact that at one time, the market trend led them to believe that as long as they make a purchase request, suppliers will deliver it to their door.
Thinking that only sales could bring them profits, businesses have always sought to invest in more effective ways to improve customer relationship management. Thus, as early as the mid-90s, software publishers launched CRM or Customer Relationship Management. All companies have started to deploy this technological tool to monitor, analyze and develop the interactions they have with their suppliers. Thanks to this software, businesses, through their marketing and sales department, have been able to streamline their processes and improve their profitability by continuously interacting with their customers, evaluating each of these interactions to determine how to improve them.
The sellers therefore had a head start: they have a much greater “customer knowledge” of Buyers thanks to their CRM Home system. But what about the buyers?
The Buyer is too often powerless in the face of his suppliers.
It was only in the 21st century, with the exploitation of resources internationally, the strengthening of supply chain trade links, and the emergence of commercial alliances between companies, that the relationship between suppliers and businesses attracted the attention of businesses. The discovery of the market value created by a good relationship with suppliers has prompted businesses to place greater emphasis on “purchases.”
They then started to abandon the concept of the traditional supplier relationship based on purchase/sale in order to focus on a long-term commercial partnership relationship. The term “partner supplier” has emerged.
This new form of relationship with suppliers required a more appropriate tool. Buyers also needed their own CRM system dedicated to suppliers. This is how SRM or Supplier Relationship Management was born.
The SRM is none other than the CRM version dedicated to the Purchasing function and oriented to the supplier. Unlike the latter, which focuses on customer relationships, it aims to improve the management of the supplier relationship.
SRM is defined as both a software tool and a full-fledged supplier relationship management method. It allows you to manage and analyze supplier data.
This tool is now being implemented in all areas related to procurement and purchasing activities within a company. The aim is to establish close and long-term collaborative relationships with suppliers. However, a lasting and stable supplier relationship is only possible if it is based on trust and the sharing of information, benefits and risks. That's where the Supplier CRM come into play. It is an information system that facilitates interactions with suppliers by collecting, listing, classifying, and updating information about them. By doing so, it helps buyers and business leaders make the best decisions.
Even today, few buyers are armed for optimize the supplier relationship.
If they had the “right data” — and if it was shared wisely within the team via a single solution — the percentage of time spent on pure business negotiations would be largely optimized.
So imagine a CRM system:
This would allow for the increase...
Such a CRM system is NOT the preserve of large groups alone. Thus, BME is positioning SMEs with an offer made affordable thanks to the Cloud (subscription-based WEB system) offering a reduction in infrastructure prices and the sharing of IT developments.
Sourcing Force integrates and centralizes, in a simplified and customized form, the main functionalities of Purchasing Decision-Making and Transactional,
What if you tested Sourcing Force? You will be able to process your purchasing projects more quickly. You will be able to process up to 45% more projects — therefore more purchase volumes (up to 37%) — and achieve nearly 10% additional savings.
In summary, the 5 benefits of Sourcing Force:
A supplier CRM can also help build supplier loyalty. By centralizing data and automating certain tasks, a business can offer better service to its suppliers, which strengthens relationships and encourages loyalty. In addition, a supplier CRM allowsanalyze supplier data and to identify opportunities for improvement and collaboration. There are various types of CRM software providers, such as traditional CRM software, CRM software in SaaS mode (Software as a Service or even open source CRM software). Each company can choose the type of software that best suits their needs and constraints.
Supplier relationship management is essential to ensure the smooth running of a business. By using a supplier CRM, a company can effectively manage relationships with suppliers, optimize procurement processes, and improve collaboration between various stakeholders. This ensures a better quality of service and strengthens the overall performance of the company.
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