Supplier Management Best Practices to Follow in 2021

1. Supplier Management Best Practices to Follow in2021 Do you know effective procurement can enhance customer experience? Look at it this way – unless you receive the goods on time, you can’t proceed further. If the supplies are not delivered on time, it will result in late deliveries, which will affect customer experience and sales. So, while focusing on customer relationships, you have to focus on supplier managementtoo. Supplier management maximizes the business performance by automating all the processes. It streamlines the entire supply chainactivities. Let’sunderstandwhatitmeansandhowitworks. sales@crmjetty.com

2. What is SupplierManagement? • In simple terms, supplier management refers to all the processes and activities related to suppliers. It includes identification, performance evaluation, compliance, management, and contractnegotiation. • Supplier management is the relationship between buyers and suppliers. Like CRM, it helps build a strong relationship with those who supply goods and services to your business. But there’s a difference. CRM helps you connect with all the customers. Here, you can invite global suppliers to be part of your network and then filter them based on your requirements. • An effective solution helps you understand your investment and theoutput. Here’s how: • You invite the global suppliers to be a part of your network. • Evaluationstarts.Basedonyourrequirementsandtheir performance, you select thesupplier/s. • You welcome them onboard, discuss the contract, and track theirperformance. sales@crmjetty.com

3. Well, you could say that this is easy and can be manageable. But is it? You need a supplier management solution. Let’s find outwhy. Reasons to Invest inSupplier Management The role of suppliers and vendors is not limited tosupplying goods and services. It’s about selecting the right partner, mitigatingrisks,andoptimizingtheentireprocess. Today, all small and enterprise businesses are connected to internationalsuppliers,whichmakesmanagementcomplex. So, to ensure that the relationships are well-maintainedand nothing hampers the business process, having supplier management is essential. It helps manage the rapport in the longrun. You can get a better idea of what’s happening in the supply chain. Identify the areas that need improvement, make better decisions, avoid disruptions, reduce risks, and even savecosts. A study by Deloitte found that businesses that invest in supply chains deliver 70% better results. And 79% of them report significant revenuegrowth. sales@crmjetty.com

4. Herearethebenefitsofimplementingsuppliermanagement bestpractices. Managing Supplier BaseEfficiently The supplier base keeps increasing constantly. As the business expands, the number may double, triple, or grow 10X. In that case, you can’t keep sharing spreadsheets with allthesuppliersorprovideaccesstoeachandeveryone.It’s time-consuming and may lead to miscommunication. Managing the entire workflow becomes complicated. But if you have a supplier management solution, you’re already free of half of the tasks. You don’t need to check the invites, proposalsormanagetheprocessmanually. Reducing OperationalExpenditure Procurement expenditures can sky-rocket if leftunattended – look at the United Nations. They spent a total of $18.8 billion on procurementin 2018. Following supplier management best practices can help identify the cost-saving areas and scrutinize the output quality. For example, you can take advantage of fixedpricing modules and cut the risk. Comparing the proposals cangive you a better idea of pricing and value. These factors will impactthebusinessinthelongrun. Improving Financial Efficiency andAccountability sales@crmjetty.com

5. Supplier management solution reduces the risks of fraudulent invoices and third-partyinvolvements. It streamlines the process and provides an in-house invoice and proposals feature for purchase and billing. As payments aredonefromtheportal,iteliminatessecuritythreats. CentralizedCommunication The most advantageous thing about supplier managementis that it provides a dedicated platform for communication. Apart from managing proposals, contracts, and stuff, supplierscancommunicatewithyouviain-appchatsorso. They can check if the delivery is done without calling or checking their emails forconfirmation. This internal communication saves you and your suppliers from wasting time on emails. Do you know that people spend an average of 15.5 hours weekly checking andsending emails? I am sure you don’t want to spend 20 working weeks of the year on youremails. Once you understand this and the reasons for using a supplier management solution, it will be easy to adopt supplier management bestpractices. Supplier Management BestPractices sales@crmjetty.com

6. A structurally organized supplier chain can yield great results. Here are a few tips that you should follow to getthe bestresults: EncourageSelf-Service Nowadays, people like to solve problems themselves before contacting a support team. So, you can encourage your suppliers to solve their problems and learn more aboutyour productsbysharingdatawiththem. Using a knowledge base, they can read about the articles, FAQs, product information and watch training and video tutorials. This would give them a better understanding and help them come up with better proposals. Also, it would reduce the burden on your support team, considering you have a huge number of suppliers and customers to attend to. Self-service will empower your suppliers and vendors. For that, it’s essential to keep the knowledge base up-to-date with freshcontent. Formulate BusinessRequirements Managing a supply chain is not just about findingthe cheapestdeal.You business-driven. It needtomakesurethatdealis meetsyourbusinessrequirements, sales@crmjetty.com

7. follows the company strategy, has fewer risks, and delivers quality. To make this possible, you and your team must share the business goals. Only when they know the business requirements will they be able to eliminate the mistakes in selecting suppliers or negotiating deals. Aligned business goals help measure the performance and make sound decisions. Prioritize yourSelection Once you’ve collected the supplier invites and data, it’s best to segment them based on specific criteria. It will help you prioritize theselection and relationships based on parameters. You can sort based on delivery time, previous history,compliance,qualityofservice,riskfactors,etc. Segmentation is necessary as it helps match with the suitable suppliers. A Kraljic Matrix is an effective way to deliver accurate segmentation. According to the matrix, you should map supply chains in two dimensions – risk and profitability. sales@crmjetty.com

8. Source:Forbes: KraljicMatrix Risk helps identify unexpected events, and profitability describestheimpactofsupplyitemsontheoutcome. Onceyou’vegotthesegmentationright,youcanensurethat the supplier meets your business goals. The next step – moveaheadandcollaboratewiththem. Keep CommunicationIntact While collaborating with suppliers, ensure that they have understood your requirements. It will help them offer proposals that provide maximum value. Involve them inthe sales@crmjetty.com

9. decision-making process, consider their inputs and build a strong relationship with them. This strategy will help you make thesupply chain efficient. Implement aSolution Bring in technology-driven solutions to automate the process and minimize communication gaps. For example, a supplier portal can speed up the entire sales channel. It can help you manage suppliers, redistributors, vendors, and brokers. From invites to sharing data, adding comments, managing contracts,and trackingprogress,youandyoursupplierscan makethemostoutofit. Read: All About Vendor and SupplierPortal. Monitor thePerformance Evaluate and assess the performance regularly so that your suppliers can deliver quality and on time. A transparent evaluation system can help you provide suppliers with timelyfeedbackandpromptthemtoimproveservices. Monitoringtheperformance will keepyoursuppliersaligned tothebusinessgoals,andcompliance,andpolicies. Evaluate and Mitigate SupplierRisks sales@crmjetty.com

10. Even after monitoring the performance, there may be some risks involved. So, to ensure that risks don’t disrupt your entireprocess,identifytherisksatanearlystage.Checkthe suppliers, goods, services. Implement security protocols to shield you from disruptions. Train your team on how to act inthesekindsofscenariosandmakesounddecisions. Develop a risk assessment program that would assess suppliersandmonitortheprogressthroughout. WhyisaSupplierPortaltheBestSolution? By implementing the best practices, you can optimize the supply chain. But, there are some supplier management challenges that you need to overcome. For example, you may have to add the entries manually for all the suppliers. Besides, you and the assigned team will be responsible for managingorders,invoices,andtheentiresupplychain. But, with a portal, you and your team can be free of these tasks. Instead of managing your suppliers’ data, you can let themmanageit.Youcanfocusonprioritytasksliketracking supplierperformanceandensuringthegoalsalignwithyour businessobjectives. sales@crmjetty.com

11. How We Can HelpYou We can help you with a ready-to-integrate supplier portal thatstreamlinestheentiresuppliermanagementprocess. CRMJetty Supplier Portal provides various features such as comparison of suppliers, invoices and payments, role-based access, and more. You can even request a customization or getyourportalbuiltfromscratch. So,don’twait.Bringintheportaltoday! ContactUs Get expert advice on supplier portal development. Schedule ameetingwithustolearnmore. Source: https://www.crmjetty.com/blog/supplier-management-b est-practices-2021/ sales@crmjetty.com