• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Supply Management: The Essentials

Supply Management: The Essentials

April 23, 2015
SupplyChainBrain

The term "supply management" came into being as a means of referencing strategic sourcing, procurement and other elements of upstream supplier planning – aspects that would later become condensed under the "source" portion of the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model, according to Adams. The idea, he says, was to emphasize "the fact that the focus needs to be on the supplier."
Good supplier management is a "reoccurring process flow," which begins with supplier segmentation and circles back to supplier performance. The segmentation exercise is an attempt to identify strategic, "bottleneck," transactional and commodity suppliers, Adams says. As organizations advance in maturity, they should be aligning this process with customer segmentation.

The work of segmentation allows companies to focus their efforts on the most important suppliers. “No organization ever had all the bandwidth to spend time and resources on every relationship,” Adams says. Through segmentation, companies can concentrate on those partners that add the most value to the business.

Adams stresses the importance of specifying key elements of the relationship in the body of the contract. “Everyone should understand what ‘good’ is going to look like,” he says.

The level of monitoring that a company undertakes will depend on the criticality of the supplier in question. Transaction suppliers might be given a self-assessment and minimal report cards. Others judged to be more vital to the organization will be assigned more rigorous criteria and oversight, with five or more weighted attributes.

The focus should be on both people and process, Adams says. Technology is important as well, as means of aligning the various elements that make up an effective supplier-management effort.

To view the video in its entirety, click here

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Product Lifecycle Management Sourcing/Procurement/SRM Supply Chain Finance & Revenue Management Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Technology Order Fulfillment
KEYWORDS Gartner order fulfillment principal research analyst Product Lifecycle Management Richard Adams SC Finance & Revenue Management SC Planning & Optimization Sourcing Solutions Sourcing/Procurement/SCM Supplier Management Supplier Relationship Management supply chain Supply Chain Management supply chain management: sourcing and procurement solutions Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Risk Management Supply Chain Visibility Technology
SupplyChainBrain

Redwood Logistics Launches Sustainability Tool for Shippers

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A GIANT EXCAVATOR BEARING THE JOHN DEERE LOGO SITS IN A FIELD IN DAPPLED SUNLIGHT

    EVs Finally Land at North America’s Biggest Machinery Conference

    Technology
  • A ROW OF HOT AIR BALLOONS CONTAINS A ROCKET ZOOMING PAST THEM

    When Adopting New Tools for the Supply Chain, Don’t Forget Change Management

    Technology
  • TWO HANDS IN SHIRT CUFFS SHAKE AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF A US FLAG

    Podcast | Leaving China: Is ‘Friend-Shoring’ the Answer?

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DEEPLY CRACKED EARTH UNDER A BLUE CLOUDY SKY

    It’s Time to Embed Climate Considerations Into Supply Chain Strategies

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • kristin-toth.jpg

    Watch: What Goes Around, Comes Around: Circularity in the Supply Chain

    Reverse Logistics

Digital Edition

Scb q1 2023 cover

2023 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide: Packing for a Difficult Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Holman Logistics Honeywell Intelligrated
IFM Infor Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Lean Solutions Group 2H Liberty SBF Locus Robotics
Logility LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems
MCA Connect MPO Nvidia
Old Dominion OpenText ORTEC
Overhaul Parsyl PMMI
QIMA Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash
Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG
Ship4WD Shipwell Shyft
Sourcemap Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing