Unlocking the Potential Value of SRM through Effective Governance

The 2014 Vantage Partners Supplier Relationship Management Study is a global benchmarking study of SRM best practices and provides new insights into which specific SRM practices deliver the greatest value. A major focus of our research study was to gain new insights into which specific SRM practices, independently and in combination, yield the greatest benefit and return on investment.

One of our primary findings was that governance (the discipline of formulating, making, and implementing strategic decisions) was a major differentiator of top SRM performers. In this article we discuss some of the specific SRM practices that collectively comprise effective SRM governance, and also explore key practices that differentiate top SRM performers from bottom performers, with a focus on SRM program level governance, and individual relationship governance with key suppliers.