Developing supplier relationships

Many businesses buy goods, materials and services from third-party providers or suppliers. Some work with wholesalers and distributors; others with manufacturers and import sources.

These suppliers can play a central role in the success of your business and your ability to grow profits. It is important to manage your suppliers carefully, to ensure that you maximise the value of these relationships.

This guide introduces some key concepts around supplier relationship management. It tells you how to build strong supplier relationships, review their performance and use supplier service level agreements to help manage expectations and deliver results.

It also highlights best practices in supplier quality management to help you control production costs, reduce variances and ensure compliance with quality standards. Finally, it sets out key considerations for ending supplier contracts, should you need to terminate existing contracts or switch to a new supplier.