SRM and Supply Management Benchmarking Study

To better understand the impact investments in supplier relationship management (SRM) on businesses to-date, as well as the practices that yield the greatest return for companies, Vantage Partners conducted a multi-year global research study of more than 900 individuals from 400 companies. Respondents included C-suite executives, Executive Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, Directors, and Managers from procurement and supply chain groups representing a wide variety of industries and some of the world’s largest companies.  An additional Vantage research study of more than 400 individuals from 300 organizations, conducted between 2016 and 2018, evaluated the correlation between the returns on negotiated agreements and related practices including supplier relationship management and is cited in these findings.  The negotiation study was conducted as follow-up to a 2009 study that included responses from more than 800 individuals.

Additionally, Vantage Partners has conducted dozens of interviews with senior leaders from a cross-section of industries and stages in SRM program maturity completed between the conclusion of the surveys and the drafting of this article.  The information gathered in these interviews, combined with case studies from Vantage client work, provided anecdotal evidence and case studies to confirm and illustrate our findings.