Supplier Assessment Tools

Does your business need supplier assessment tools to support your supplier diversity or improvement initiatives? Every supplier diversity program needs a clear understanding of:

✔ An actionable roadmap for achieving those goals

Without all these components, organizations risk spinning their wheels and spending far too much time and money on programs that don’t improve business outcomes.

At Bellewether Ltd., we’ve taken our decades of experience with supply chain diversity and management, and created a diagnostic tool called the FLITER® Business & Leadership Rating Scale (BLRS) to help supply chain managers design and implement effective, data-based improvement programs.

What is the FLITER® BLRS?

The FLITER® BLRS assessment identifies operational gaps and areas of improvement for suppliers and vendors across twelve key business dimensions:

Income Generation
Finance
Marketing
Procurement
Management
Customer Service
Technology
Production
Personnel
Business Operations
Distribution
Inventory

Vendors are assessed on each of these dimensions and assigned a performance level from Pre-Level 1 to Level 3. Through the FLITER® BLRS, supply chain managers can quantify the current operational state of their vendors and use real data to identify strengths and weaknesses. This will enable informed decision-making about areas to target and potential for future growth.

The FLITER® BLRS comes with two standard individual outcome reports that identify current levels of performance. Participants also receive a detailed assessment guide that includes specific, step-by-step recommendations to “level up” in each of the twelve dimensions. Overall cohort outcomes can be generated through a standard group report or one or more of the four customized reports.

How organizations can use the FLITER® BLRS

If you’re responsible for managing a supply chain or leading a supply chain diversity or local small business development initiative, the FLITER® BLRS can be an integral component of your programming. You’ll get a clear, quantifiable, snapshot of the strengths and weaknesses of your vendors. Use those results for planning and measurement. You will have a data-driven means to demonstrate a return on investment and the fulfillment of your mission.

How do companies move through levels?

Large organizations often remark that small- and mid-sized businesses “can’t scale,” meaning that they have difficulty coping with increased capacity or expanded workloads. Suppliers need an operational structure that supports increased work and revenue flows, which is exactly what the FLITER® BLRS is designed to facilitate.

Businesses do better when they understand their level of functioning in every key business dimension. The FLITER® BLRS shows the current level of performance, how to stabilize within that level, and then how to transition to a higher level. Guide your vendors through the step-by-step recommendations and watch them become more operationally efficient–which will, in turn, improve your program outcomes.

Isn’t every business different?

Yes! Because every business and management team is unique, there are no absolute outcomes. That said, there are customary functions common to all businesses, and the twelve business dimensions identified by the FLITER® BLSR are universally relevant. Regardless of industry, company size, or product, FLITER® can help vendors move to higher levels of performance through a data-driven sequence of recommendations. FLITER® is not intended to answer every possible business eventuality. It is intended to help businesses of all kinds apply strategies for growth and sustainability to operations.

How can I get the FLITER® BLSR?

Are you ready to take your supply chain improvement program to the next level? Contact us to get started with the FLITER® Business & Leadership Rating Scale.