Businesses are profit-driven; they need to make sales to survive, so it’s natural that they value their customer relationships as one of their biggest priorities. However, while we’re all focussed on customer experience, are we putting enough value on the other side of the equation – our supplier relationships?
In order to get the best results, we know we must work closely with our suppliers, but there are so many levels to this. Integrating the right tools, processes, resources and technology allows you to align with your suppliers and maximize the relationships that you form. This can have major effects on the effectiveness of your company.
Save Money
A large portion of your business’s expenditure is likely to be with your suppliers. It makes sense; they provide you with everything you need to do business. When you’re spending that kind of money, though, there’s always room to make things more efficient and find savings. Automation is cost-effective because it minimizes the chances of error and allows you to streamline your relationships. The closer aligned you are to your suppliers, the less likely it is you will suffer from delays through lack of communication, and you are more likely to be able to take advantage of special promotions and price drops.
Build Loyal Relationships
Mutually beneficial relationships work for you, and they work for your supplier, meaning everyone wins. The greater the focus you put on your supplier relationships, the more they are going to benefit both parties. Of course, in business, loyalties only go so far, but working with companies you have an established relationship with goes some way to protecting you from the unpredictability of doing business.
The software you use, or the processes you implement aren’t going to define your supplier relationships, but they will go a long way towards making them work better for everybody. By using the right software from a company like Weaveability, and reassessing the way you work with your suppliers, you can improve your offerings to your customers and boost your business performance.
Efficient Use of Time
As mentioned, your company needs to make money to survive, so it wants to be focussing its time on making sales. Traditionally, supplier relationship management was one of those areas that took important man hours away from other business areas. That doesn’t have to be the case with modern technology, though. We have the tools to make our supplier relationships more efficient without having to spend lots of man hours on it, and it’s just a case of investing in the technology.
Create Value
At the end of the day, you want to get as much value out of your relationships as possible. The time you do spend on your supplier relationships, you want to be spent doing the important things like building an actual human relationship – not entering numbers into a spreadsheet. Technology gives you the ability to automate certain parts of this relationship, allowing you to focus your time on the most important aspect – getting greater value from your relationships.