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Strategic Suppliers' Value

Author(s):

Terri Tracey, CAE, Editor-in-Chief

October 2012, Inside Supply Management^® Vol. 23, No. 8, page 4

From the Editor-in-Chief
Strategic suppliers can bring a lot of value to the table — and a lot of savings to the bottom line.

Supply management professionals work more closely with their strategic suppliers than anyone else in the organization. It can be challenging for both supply and supplier organizations to share proprietary information with each other. For both sides of the equation to realize the most value, read Dig Deep to Uncover Supplier Capabilities, on page 18, to learn how to approach suppliers and build value creation.

Direct and indirect value can be recognized by working with a diverse supply chain and working with more women- and minority-owned businesses (WMBEs). Our article on page 26, Developing Diverse Global Supply Chains, showcases two countries — Canada and South Africa — including their supplier diversity environments and objectives for companies working with minority groups that make up the pool of WMBE suppliers in each country.

Contracting and contract management are not only becoming more significant in supply management, they can also bring a lot of value to organizations. In Rethinking Contracting's Role, on page 22, investigate how trends such as commoditization, outsourcing and globalization are impacting contract management now and into the future.

Better managing resources is always a goal of supply professionals. Cloud computing is an option that more organizations are taking advantage of. Read Supply Management in the Cloud, on page 12, to learn about four primary cloud computing deployment models — public clouds, community clouds, hybrid clouds and private clouds — and things to consider when deciding what, when and how to move some supply management functionalities to cloud solutions.

The CPO's role is constantly changing — and continues to grow to include much broader supply chain responsibilities. On page 34, our CAPS Research article, Snapshot of the CPO Role, reports on a study giving insights into the evolving titles of CPOs, tenure in the position, educational background, level of experience and age.

CPOs and other supply professionals can take advantage of resources to get more done, without adding cost to the company. In Team Up With Students, on page 32, we provide several examples of organizations partnering with universities to solve sustainability challenges. Examples range from students working with Ford Motor Company to solve a sustainability issue with auto paint to helping Boeing address several health and safety requirements.

To be a successful supply leader, you need to build strong supervisor-employee relationships. One approach is to engage in a leader-member exchange (LMX) to describe the relationship between a supervisor and his or her employees. Read Ties That Bind, on page 10, for ideas to implement a program like this that pays off in employees showing greater commitment to their supervisor and, in turn, to the organization.

While we all want to be successful in our careers, we also want to feel successful in life as a whole. To get there, we need to understand what our most important life values are. In Determine What You Value Most, on page 36, we present a suggested method — and example life values — to both assess and determine your own preferred values.

Let us know what you think about this issue.

Terri Tracey, CAE
Editor-in-Chief

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