You Say You Want Collaboration?

Well, those weren’t quite John Lennon’s exact words, but as customers are increasingly looking to engage in a more collaborative and strategic way with their key suppliers, in some ways it’s nothing short of a “revolution.” Just as suppliers have developed strategic account management (SAM) programs to manage their most critical customers, customers have formalized supplier relationship management (SRM) programs to drive collaboration from their side.

This article is a conversation about these latest trends between Jonathan Hughes, a partner and director of Vantage Partners’ Sourcing and Supply Chain Management practice, and David Chapnick, a principal and leader in Vantage’s Sales and Account Management practice. Despite being on opposite sides of the same coin, the two of them have collaborated for years to “change the world” through helping companies implement SRM and SAM programs, and by intervening on specific customer-supplier relationships. Here, they offer their thoughts to the SAMA community on the exciting convergence of SAM and SRM thinking and practice.