Supplier Relationships

One of the most important components of lean manufacturing is getting the relationship between you and your suppliers on the same page

. Remember that the suppliers are there to help you succeed and if you do not feel as though they have your best interest in mind, then you should either let them know or find another supplier.

But also remember that they are there to make money, just like you are and if you beat them down too hard, and then they may just leave. And if they were a good supplier, then you will regret having pushed them away. They are there to make money as you already know, and you should not have your expectations of them at an unreasonable level.

Expect what you should expect, a competent supplier that offers good service at a fair price, but don't expect them to be the only way that you save money or become lean. There is a danger in squeezing one supplier too much. It needs to be relative in proportion to what they actually supply you. For example, if 50% of your spend is with your steel supplier and 2% of your spend is with your fastener supplier, you should not expect to make your budget savings based on squeezing the fastener supplier out of business.

This is called building a relationship and if you begin to burn out relationships, there will eventually be a time when you get back around to people that you have already burned and they will not be so willing to help you out again. Also, the suppliers are the experts in the fields that they are supplying and so you should use their knowledge to benefit what you are trying to do. They may be able to show you some cost saving in using a comparable material or another process that could save you money over what you are currently doing.

But without building on the relationship you might never get to that point where they can offer solutions. Also the drawback of using a catalog house when you're purchasing material is that you do not get the expertise or advice that a live account representative offers. You're at the mercy of what is listed on the site or the minimum wage customer service rep that you may get on the phone that is most likely in another country sitting in a phone bank amongst a million other cubicles.

by: Craig Calvin

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