Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3 - 26

BEST PRACTICES

and - importantly - measures. This
stands in stark contrast to the one-sizefits-all performance frameworks many
organizations currently force on their
suppliers. Because the supplier is the
expert on the product or service being
provided, its insight is key to identify the
most meaningful measures.

Practice
Collaborative Behaviors
Throughout the partnership, both parties should reinforce their commitment
to collaboration through their actions.
Daniel Coyle, author of "The Culture
Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful
Groups," identified three key behaviors
that promote collaboration and propel
groups toward greater productivity.
These behaviors can be used to build
cohesion and collaboration not only
within the organization, but with external partners.
The first key behavior is "build safety."
Establish a safe environment that allows
individuals to feel comfortable admitting

You should establish a safe
relationship that allows individuals
to comfortably admit mistakes,
share ideas and ask questions.

Supply Chain World VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

mistakes, sharing ideas and asking questions. According to Coyle, safety is like a
light switch: If we feel safe, we connect; if
we don't feel safe, we don't connect.
The second key behavior is "share vulnerability." Demonstrate behaviors that
show risk is shared among both parties.
This begins with one party (typically,
the leader, or in this case, the buyer)
openly sharing their own challenges and
limitations, which encourages the other
party to do the same. This promotes
transparency and the idea that "we're in
this together."
The third key behavior is "establish
purpose." Collaboration is never an
end in itself; both parties need a clear,
well-established purpose to drive
collaborative efforts. Coyle recommends explicitly defining and continually promoting the purpose through
mantras. For example, turn guiding
principles (e.g., "Reciprocity") into
short, easy-to-remember mantras (e.g.,
"We'll treat each other fair and square").
Mantras may seem corny, but they help

people know what to do when problems
and issues arise.

The Takeaway: Collaboration
Delivers Bottom-Line Benefits
For procurement professionals to
succeed in today's complex and competitive landscape, collaboration is
not a nice-to-have - it's a requirement.
Research from IBM finds that organizations with collaborative supplier
relationships achieve twice the revenue
growth and five times the gross profit
growth of their peers. Start building
collaborative relationships now or
prepare to fall behind.
For more information, see APQC's
Reinventing Supplier Relationship
Management white paper and research
on next-generation SRM conducted in
collaboration with Kate Vitasek, Bonnie
Keith and Emmanuel Cambresy.
Marisa Brown is senior principal research lead

of supply chain management for APQC, an authority
in benchmarking, best practices, process and performance improvement, and knowledge management.

Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3