Finding great suppliers / vendors can be one of the most challenging areas for a supply chain professional. We are constantly bombarded with phone calls, emails, and flyers of companies looking for new business. It's important to be professional and courteous, but are these the suppliers you really want to partner with? How do you find suppliers that compliment your business and will truly be a partner in your supply chain?
There are several different ways to find strategic suppliers / vendors and over the years I have developed a methodology that always provides good results. As a first step, you should truly understand the product or service you are sourcing. Part of the success of a partnership with a supplier is going to depend on how well your product or service fits with their companies business model. If you have a high volume product, would you work with a small supplier who cannot keep up with the demand and constantly struggles to provide product? On the flip side, if you have a low volume product that you only order several times a year, would you want to partner with a large, high volume supplier? Would you receive the right level of service and pricing for the product you are purchasing?
Once you understand the product or service you are sourcing, and the type of supplier you should be working with, it's time to move onto the next critical step... NETWORKING. You must communicate with people in your business network. A supplier recommendation from someone in your network is going to be the absolute, very best way of finding your next great supplier. Also, it is important to network within your own organization for recommendations. It is very possible that someone within your organization has a great supplier or vendor they can recommend. Sometimes, networking does not yield the results you were hoping for. Another option is to search websites like ThomasNet to help guide you toward the right suppliers. This approach is more time consuming but can yield good results if you spend the time to research and connect with suppliers.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information about how to locate and partner with suppliers.
Best regards,
T. W. Penick
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Why You Should Analyze Your Supply Chain Risk Management
As we kick off 2015, the new year brings many things, including new resolutions, goals, dreams, aspirations, and in my case, cold winter weather and snow.
For the new year, I have been thinking about supply chain goals for 2015. What goals will take your supply chain to the next level in 2015? Is it material cost savings? Possibly improving on time delivery, or reducing the amount of bad material arriving at receiving inspection? Do you have a goal to reduce your supply chain risk in 2015, and if you do, how do you define, measure and analyze it?
In today's blog, I will briefly discuss supply chain risk and why it's important to review on an annual basis. With the beginning of a new year, why not take some time in the month of January to understand how supply chain risks effect your overall supply chain management strategy and goals.
Thinking about 3 key areas; price, delivery, and quality, you can quickly begin to build a risk matrix. First, consider your supply chain and what risk factors you have for pricing. Who are your key suppliers and do you currently have long term supply and pricing agreements in place to protect you from price fluctuations? How are current commodity markets trending, flat, up, or down? Analyzing where your suppliers are located can also be a helpful tool in understanding what risks are present in your supply chain. It is important to know what political and economic factors effect your suppliers. Are there issues with your inbound and outbound logistics suppliers, do you have pricing contracts in place and how does the port slowdowns affect your logistics pricing.
If you continue this methodology for delivery and quality, you quickly begin to see how all three areas are inter related and how much potential risk is intermingled in your supply chain. Now take a step back and think about your supply chain management strategy and goals for 2015. Are you addressing these risks? Did you even know you had risks or fully understand how they can affect your business?
It is not feasible to eliminate all risk, but you can certainly identify and analyze supply chain risk. If you understand the risks, it will help you make sourcing decisions going forward. You can begin to make better decisions about where to buy, how much to buy, and what suppliers should be strategic partners. Do you have key product channels with too much supply chain risk and how could this potentially impact revenue for your company? Why not start off the new year on the right foot by analyzing and reducing your supply chain risk.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information about supply chain management.
Best regards,
T. W. Penick
For the new year, I have been thinking about supply chain goals for 2015. What goals will take your supply chain to the next level in 2015? Is it material cost savings? Possibly improving on time delivery, or reducing the amount of bad material arriving at receiving inspection? Do you have a goal to reduce your supply chain risk in 2015, and if you do, how do you define, measure and analyze it?
In today's blog, I will briefly discuss supply chain risk and why it's important to review on an annual basis. With the beginning of a new year, why not take some time in the month of January to understand how supply chain risks effect your overall supply chain management strategy and goals.
Thinking about 3 key areas; price, delivery, and quality, you can quickly begin to build a risk matrix. First, consider your supply chain and what risk factors you have for pricing. Who are your key suppliers and do you currently have long term supply and pricing agreements in place to protect you from price fluctuations? How are current commodity markets trending, flat, up, or down? Analyzing where your suppliers are located can also be a helpful tool in understanding what risks are present in your supply chain. It is important to know what political and economic factors effect your suppliers. Are there issues with your inbound and outbound logistics suppliers, do you have pricing contracts in place and how does the port slowdowns affect your logistics pricing.
If you continue this methodology for delivery and quality, you quickly begin to see how all three areas are inter related and how much potential risk is intermingled in your supply chain. Now take a step back and think about your supply chain management strategy and goals for 2015. Are you addressing these risks? Did you even know you had risks or fully understand how they can affect your business?
It is not feasible to eliminate all risk, but you can certainly identify and analyze supply chain risk. If you understand the risks, it will help you make sourcing decisions going forward. You can begin to make better decisions about where to buy, how much to buy, and what suppliers should be strategic partners. Do you have key product channels with too much supply chain risk and how could this potentially impact revenue for your company? Why not start off the new year on the right foot by analyzing and reducing your supply chain risk.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information about supply chain management.
Best regards,
T. W. Penick
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