There's an old saying: "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince." Recently, I've encountered my share of "frogs" (and a few "princes"), which reminded me of this phrase. In business, one of the biggest challenges is maximising productivity and minimising the opportunity cost of our most precious resource—time.
Those responsible for generating revenue know the frustration of investing time in low-quality prospects who never become clients. However, we often overlook the time lost managing supplier relationships and the broader marketplace.
Here’s how this applies to working with suppliers:
1. Preferred Suppliers: Focus on suppliers who are pre-vetted and pre-qualified.
Aligning with reliable, high-quality businesses (and those running them) reduces the
impact of the other "frogs" in the pond.
2. Keep Them Engaged: Once you find suppliers with the right culture, capabilities,
and capacity, keep them close. Make it easy for them to work with you—nurture your
"princes."
3. Strategic Focus: Supplier management takes time, especially when handling large
volumes. The bigger the network, the more "frogs" you may encounter and the
greater the risk of them sneaking into your ecosystem.
4. Avoid Admin Overload: Growth in revenue, markets, or regulatory requirements can
burden your team. Ensure they have time for proper (frog kissing) supplier
evaluation.
5. Make the Systems Easy & Fast to Use: Simple systems free up time for those
selecting suppliers. Make the ‘kissing’ process simple!
Manual processes (spreadsheets, share drives, emails, etc.) and complex ERP platforms can be a recipe for disaster and will be sure to leave a bad (frog) taste in your mouth!
Talk to us via the request contact for more information about our easy, fast and affordable solution.
