EQUINITI AND ITS SUPPLIER ECOSYSTEM
“ It has been one area where we have had to focus a lot of time and effort on . Before forming any partnerships it ’ s important to understand each other ' s roles , responsibilities and expectations . We have done this by creating a procurement network which we use not only to educate the business of their role in the different procurement processes but also to seek feedback on what is working and what is not , making adjustments where necessary . Partnerships are built through strong working relationships to common goals . We listen to our stakeholders goals , translate them to procurement objectives and then ensure they are cascaded to the relevant suppliers . “ Our supplier ecosystems have been built to enable two-way feedback , focusing not just on their performance as a supplier but on our performance as a customer . We need to listen carefully to what they say and try to be as easy to work with as possible . “ Sometimes it can be difficult to get their honest feedback , after all , who wants to tell the customer their behaviours are counterintuitive , but it ’ s important that all issues in the relationship are tabled and discussed . Our ultimate goal is to become the customer of choice and this is the biggest benefit of investing so much time in developing the relationship . We think of the supplier account managers as an extension to our team , they are the people who will advocate for us in their own organisation , solve problems and help to fight for scarce resources ” - Michael Burt , CPO , Equiniti .
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