
A poll recently conducted by the Chartered Institute of Purchase & Supply (CIPS) highlighted that nearly half (45 per cent) of buyers surveyed admitted they had no plan B that ?stretches down the tiers of supply chains? if plan A fails. Additionally, less than a third of buyers had a back-up strategy in place, while a fifth were unsure if they had a plan B or not. While day-to-day operational issues can be time consuming for buyers, output and service levels can quickly slip if time is not taken to strengthen supply chain efforts.
The reality is that once suppliers are contracted and in place, it is not always possible to simply switch to a backup vendor if a problem with a delivery occurs. This means that buyers have to make certain that a supplier is competent enough to be relied on in the long-term and also innovative enough to have alternative sourcing strategies in place. This takes away the need for the buyer to arrange this themselves and acts as a signal of good supplier service. The quality of service a supplier can offer needs to be comprehensively checked before any contractual agreement is signed. This can be facilitated by reviewing testimonials or references from their previous clients and even speaking directly with these customers to properly qualify the capabilities of a vendor. This more objective input provides a backup for individual claims made by suppliers and allows buyers to make a more informed decision. Even where buyers are satisfied with a supplier?s credentials, it may be worth implementing a trial period in order for a supplier to prove that they are able to deliver to particular specifications. Consider simulating a particular problem to test a supplier?s ability to source from a separate provider in order to meet the brief.- Tesco tops list of supplier complaints, but is improving under Dave Lewis
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Nigel Crunden is a business specialist at Office Depot.
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