What is a supplier development program?

The goal of a supplier development program is to improve your relationships with vendors and suppliers and enable them to operate more effectively.

  • A supplier development program is a set of related measures and activities with a particular aim.
  • Supplier development programming is the planning, scheduling or performance of an instructional process, with a long term view or goal.

Supplier development programs begin with a comprehensive analysis of your organization’s needs and your vendors’ strengths and weaknesses. This assessment should rate each vendor on a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as responsiveness, defect rate, and delivery time. Then, a detailed plan must be crafted for how to address low-scoring vendors, and help every supplier improve in the areas they need it most.

Why your company may need a supplier development program

Simply put:

  • Competitive edge
  • Community engagement
  • Company culture and brand fusion

Having a productive and effective supply chain provides an advantage when competing for projects. Without trust and transparency between your organization and its vendors, effective collaboration is impossible. Decades worth of data proves that a nimble, productive, and wide-ranging network of vendors makes a substantial impact on your company’s bottom line.

Here are just a few ways a robust supplier development program can drive business success:

Response time

By coaching your vendors toward greater efficiency and productivity, you’ll see far-reaching positive impact on your overall product or service lead time.

Improved problem-solving skills

Supplier development programs provide vendors the tools and resources they need to manage their businesses better, including how to overcome challenges and creatively address issues.

Stronger relationships

When organizations demonstrate their commitment to helping their suppliers grow, their relationships are strengthened. Supplier development programs will improve your vendor retention and radically improve the communication dynamic between different stakeholders.

More opportunities for innovation

When suppliers are encouraged to think outside the box, they can more effectively collaborate with your team to produce unique or innovative solutions.

How does Bellewether work with companies to develop supplier development programs?

As supplier development consultants, we start by understanding your objective. Next we apply a series of proprietary tools, techniques, and measurable analysis to form a customized approach to your supplier cohort. The data we obtain through this assessment process provides the supplier with unprecedented information about his/her business operations, and creates a deeper understanding for your company about what each supplier may need to increase their value in your supply chain. This analysis helps us prioritize your resources (time, energy and dollars) to determine the best approach to helping suppliers actually achieve the next level of business growth.

FLITER® Supplier Assessment Tool

The problem with many supplier development programs is that there has historically been no system to evaluate the current state of suppliers and their business operations. Through the use of FLITER®, Bellewether applies a systemic approach to business growth through structure. Among small-to-mid-size companies, this approach is particularly helpful in speeding the development of businesses’ management and administrative proficiency.

By pinpointing an individual baseline for each firm, we can derive a proven pathway to measurable improvement. This enables these enterprises to stabilize their operations so as to predictably grow, expand, and scale, with minimal risk.

Check out the video to learn more about FLITER®. When you’re ready to get started, contact us to get the ball rolling.

What our customers are saying about FLITER®

“The Bellewether process, using FLITER® as its foundation, revealed insightful glimpses into the inner workings of the participating companies, and offered salient strategies, measurements and outcomes by which to close performance gaps and to ultimately improve efficiencies and productivity. Simultaneously, corporate member participants were helped in improving their respective supply chain mechanisms, and advised on better ways to provide advice in their role as corporate mentors and resources.”

Why choose Bellewether to help with your supplier development program?

Bellewether has been a leader in supplier development program development and training for two decades. Vendor development is not a trendy add-on for us: it is a key part of who we are. We have worked with numerous companies and hundreds of suppliers to increase the value and performance of supply chains.

Let’s Get Started

Ready to make your business better? Contact us today!