How can you improve the performance of your suppliers and your ecosystem?
At Cubik, we help companies improve their suppliers’ performance by combining a tailored procurement strategy, rigorous management of supplier relationships, and initiatives to implement Operational Excellence.
Our goal:to address your company’s performance challenges by transforming your suppliers into true strategic partners capable of actively contributing to your competitiveness, innovation, and resilience.
What is Supplier Development?
Supplier Development is part of a comprehensive Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) approach. The supplier relationship refers to all interactions between a company and its partners, which are essential for ensuring the availability of the raw materials, products, or services necessary for its operations. Beyond simple supply chain management, SRM is a key driver for strengthening a company’s competitiveness in its market.
It covers a wide range of activities: performance evaluation, contract negotiation, strategic collaboration, risk management, and demand planning. Long focused on their internal transformation, procurement functions must now broaden their scope to develop a high-performing external ecosystem. Supplier Development goes a step further by incorporating programs for continuous improvement, training, and support to raise your suppliers’ level of maturity and align their performance with your requirements.
Focus on strategic suppliers
Key Suppliers: Preferred Partners
Key suppliers are valued partners: without them, your company would not be able to maintain its level of service, quality, or profitability. They provide essential products or services, have a major impact on your business, or offer unique added value.
When a company works with many suppliers, it is important to focus on those that are most strategic to the company—that is, those that contribute the most to its business. Without them, the company would find it difficult to continue operating under the same conditions and maintain the same level of service.
These key suppliers are those that provide essential products or services, those that have the greatest impact on quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction, or those that are the most innovative.
Identify Key Suppliers
To identify them, regular performance evaluations are essential. Criteria include quality, on-time delivery, adherence to costs and deadlines, capacity for innovation, flexibility, and availability. Once identified, suppliers can be classified into three categories, which determine the type of management approach to adopt:
- Strategic management: Their contribution is critical; there are few of them, and their relationship is guided by top management.
- Proactive management: Their contribution is significant to business objectives; the relationship often involves the Innovation, R&D, or Marketing & Sales departments.
- Operational management: Their contribution is standard; there are many of them, and they are interchangeable; the relationship is managed by buyers and the supply chain.
By focusing on these key suppliers, we help you optimize your resources, strengthen collaboration, and create a high-performing and resilient ecosystem.
