Since the increasing challenges that shipowners, operators, and managers face, relationships between buyers and suppliers are evolving. Fundamentally, customers now require solutions. Where before a commoditized approach to conducting business (driven by price) has been the norm, suppliers now need to work with their customers to deliver value beyond the basic price of their product or service.
To thrive – and in some cases survive – the new world order for shipping will be driven by the creation of ecosystems made up of a myriad of specialists and specific experts focused on maximizing the value of the asset (the vessel); the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
It is quite clear that there is a desire from buyers to have more strategic relationships with their suppliers; placing more spend under contract, and as the ability to analyse and gain meaningful insights from data and intelligence improves, in conjunction with increased functionality of procurement systems, strategic purchasing models are set to stay. At the heart of this is ‘collaboration’ and building relationships with buyers based on partnership.
The core dimensions of an effective buyer/supplier relationship are trust, communication, team orientation, innovation, focus, and cultural compatibility.
Buyers and suppliers that want to develop more strategic models have to work on the best way to increase their levels of collaboration and how more sustainable relationships can be developed; identifying systems and processes that improve trust, knowledge sharing and communication; creating a fair and mutually beneficial cost structure and contract; and fostering a symbiotic working culture within the relationship.