Guest Blog from Sam Bugden
Procurement Development Manager at Specsavers
COVID-19 has, in just a few short months, changed everything. The human impacts have sadly touched many. Furloughing, social distancing, and lock-down are currently the norm. But what about the future? As we grapple through the fog of war, how do we transform and prepare our businesses for an unprecedented and uncertain social and economic future? Supplier Innovation could hold the key.
Before I go on, I need to make a confession: I am a Supplier Innovation hardliner and sceptic. Let me explain why.
Confession
I’m sure as procurement professionals we’ve all witnessed or participated in the debate about what Supplier Innovation is or isn’t. To date I’ve never been convinced that we’ve reached a satisfactory answer as a profession. Even the term ‘Supplier Innovation’ never quite settles. A new twist on the term seems to emerge on a regular basis (Supplier Enabled Innovation, Advanced Sourcing, etc…). Likely symptomatic of the fact we haven’t quite figured out what it should or could be.
From a personal perspective I see Supplier Innovation as collaborating with suppliers to co-create new and novel solutions to real business challenges. The key word there is ‘new’. If you’re just applying a supplier’s existing goods or services to solve a need, that’s just great sourcing not true innovation. Unless we adopt such a strict definition can we honestly say that we’re truly achieving the benefits of Supplier Innovation – one of the few things we do seem to have achieved consensus on? It’s the application of loose definitions that gives rise to my scepticism.
Many companies claim to innovate with their suppliers, but few would pass the definition as I’ve set it out. Kudos to those that do, as true Supplier Innovation is a difficult thing to master. I remain sceptical however that Supplier Innovation, as a well-defined and executed concept, has widely manifested itself as other aspects of supplier relationship management have in recent years. Let me be clear though, I’m not a sceptic about the need for, or potential of, Supplier Innovation. Quite the opposite in fact. Now is the time we need it more than ever. In fact, it could be that the COVID-19 crisis acts as the catalyst for Supplier Innovation to come of age.
Watershed Moment
Few would dispute that COVID-19 will have a lasting impact to the way companies do business. Consumer confidence will need to be won in new ways. New supply chain models will be key to building the resilience to survive a potential second outbreak. New technologies will be needed to enable remote customer and workforce engagement. It would be naïve to think that businesses can develop and adapt in isolation, without drawing on the expertise of their key suppliers.
Never have we faced such a fundamental, common, and global challenge to conducting business. Perhaps this has been the missing piece for Supplier Innovation. A uniting and driving force that compels us to collaborate with our suppliers for mutual value and survival in these uncertain times. If we seize this opportunity, we could finally crystallise our understanding of how to unlock the potential of Supplier Innovation.
It’s now or never. If Supplier Innovation doesn’t make sense now, when we’re all faced with this common challenge, then I’m not sure when it ever will.
