Supplier Collaboration for Stable Procurement

In today’s global and often fragmented supply chains, effective supplier collaboration is not just a competitive advantage. It’s fundamental. To explore this topic further, Haizol sat down with Andrew Tanner-Smith. He is the Founder of Supplier Strategies and works with businesses - large and small - to improve value-driven relationships with supply chain partners.

Andrew shares his perspective on the importance of alignment, digital collaboration platforms, stakeholder management, and the skills required to ensure successful supplier relationships.

Why Do Supplier Collaboration Efforts Fail?

Collaboration is a complex issue. In fact, 47% of supplier collaboration projects fail to deliver the expected value. That often comes down to misalignment. Between partners, teams, or objectives. Successful collaborations may sometimes end naturally after a number of years. Simply because businesses have got the value they wanted and start looking for other opportunities.

However generally they fail because companies start off with all good intentions but become misaligned as they’re working. That’s why there are certain sets of attributes that people need, individuals need, teams need, originations need. It's that multi-layer complexity that makes it a tricky thing to navigate.

What Skills Do Collaborators Need to Succeed?

The first attribute is a genuine attitude to collaborate. In traditional procurement, information has been power, and that mindset doesn’t lend itself well to openness. Effective supplier collaboration requires transparency, empathy, and a problem-solving mindset. Thinking about how you can help your partner, not just solve your own issues.

Selflessness must exist across the individual, team, and organisational levels. If these internal layers aren’t aligned first, external collaboration will quickly fall apart.

Communication is also important. Procurement professionals often aim to minimise or mask problems. But true collaboration requires being open when issues arise. Finally, consistency matters. A partner that sees you aren’t pulling your weight will become hesitant. Consistency builds trust and minimises friction.

What Are the Skill Deficits in Procurement?

Many procurement professionals are trained to negotiate and focus on cost savings. That’s useful, but collaboration requires a different mindset. Thinking long-term, aligning values, and assessing cultural fit.

The skills needed for supplier collaboration - like emotional intelligence, openness, and systems thinking  - are learnable. Procurement has the talent; what’s often missing is development and organisational support to apply those skills effectively.

How Important Is Digitalisation in Supplier Collaboration?

Extremely important. Whether through a supplier collaboration platform, SharePoint site, or dedicated software, having a centralised place to share information in real-time is important. It adds traceability, transparency, and enables cross-border teams to stay aligned.

Without a digital system, you’re relying on outdated or incomplete information, which increases the risk of miscommunication. In today’s fast-paced environment, being able to share timely updates across your supplier network is critical.

What Role Do Stakeholders Play in Supplier Relationships?

A big one. The complexity comes because collaborators aren’t aligned. When you start off with that thinking about that, you need to think about alignment within the organisation. I’m willing to bet there is not a procurement function that does not have problems with its stakeholders. Whether it is stakeholders not understanding the value of procurement, procurement not being able to convey what it does, and why it needs to use its processes to work with a supplier, rather than going off and working on its own.

That relationship needs to be stronger and aligned earlier. Stakeholders want something from the supplier relationship. They are looking to procurement to again give that frictionless basis for that value creation to work, if they are not aligned internally, and are not on board with everything else procurement is saying about how the relationship can work, you’re already struggling. Stakeholders and procurement need to be aligned totally with this.

Why Is Governance Crucial in Supplier Collaboration?

Governance keeps the relationship on track over time. Even well-aligned relationships can drift. One of the issues we’ve found is that suppliers and their partners started off with good intentions in terms of what they want from the relationship and the escalation parts. However, they diverge as time goes on and become less engaged. Governance is key to making sure that these supplier relationships work on a long term basis. It’s too important to leave to the functional team, they need to be represented in these companies. Those working together with the suppliers really need to keep them on track. Governance needs to be positive, consistent, and it needs to thread a balance between being very active, and interested, and hands-off.

What Should Companies Consider When Choosing a Supplier?

Do your homework. You need alignment, you need to make sure that these suppliers share your ambitions, your cultural outlook. And I don’t mean nationality, but business culture, which I think differs from company to company. There are certain differences in terms of how companies regard innovation for instance, or how they regard employees, so they need to have a cultural fit. They need to have similar goals. Both financially and in terms of products. They need to be open to collaborations, and be willing to give as much as they get. 

Ask: Do they share our long-term vision? Are they open to collaboration? Do they care about what we care about, like ethical sourcing or carbon goals?

What’s the Benefit of Working with Multiple Suppliers?

It’s essential for risk mitigation, especially with commodity materials like steel. Having multiple suppliers spreads risk and builds resilience.

But when it comes to tailored manufacturing, you may work more closely with fewer partners. That requires strong relationships and trust, as there’s more investment involved on both sides.

Is It Better to Work with Suppliers with Multiple Locations?

Yes. If a supplier has multiple manufacturing hubs. They can shift production if a disruption occurs in one region. It makes your supply chain more stable and less prone to risks.

More important than the number of factory locations is how the supplier responds to issues. Track their record, flexibility, and communication. Disruptions are after all inevitable. What really matters is how you deal with them.

What’s the Future of Supplier Collaboration?

It’s only going to grow in importance. Pressure to reach net-zero goals by 2050 means your entire supply chain must be aligned. Not just your own operations. Collaboration will be key to developing clean technologies and reaching sustainability targets.

We’ll see more emphasis on multi-tier supplier collaboration, digital supplier collaboration tools, and shared innovation. Companies that can align their supply network around shared goals will be the ones that thrive.

Conclusion: Supplier Collaboration for Stable Procurement

Andrew’s insights make one thing clear: supplier collaboration isn’t just a procurement trend. It’s a strategic capability. As supply chains evolve, so must the tools, governance, and mindsets we use to manage them.

Looking to build more stable supplier relationships? Haizol Global offers end-to-end manufacturing services, combined with expert consulting and project management. Whether you’re aiming to diversify your supply chain or need the right partners for product development. We’re here to help. Contact us today for a free consultation.