How do you treat your suppliers? Do you see them as part of your team? Building relationships where you treat suppliers like respected, extended members of your team can influence whether you succeed or fail. Here are the DOs and DON’Ts I’ve learnt in my career when building a supplier relationship:
DO 👍
– Nurture the relationship (How can you help them? How can they help you?)
– Share your business goals
– Share your business challenges
– Travel to meet them (occasionally), it shows respect & commitment
– Have a laugh with them
DON’T 👎
– Blame your supplier if something goes wrong
– Look to screw ‘em into the ground (You both have to benefit from the relationship)
– Treat them like an outsider