Continuous improvement in all aspects of the supply chain is necessary
to remain competitive in today's global economy. The traditional
adversarial relationship and transactional focus of buyers and suppliers
cannot meet this demand for continuous improvement in lead-time,
quality, and overall supplier performance. As a result, significant
changes are occurring in the philosophies and approaches that define the
relationship between purchasers and sellers in world-class
organizations. Simply put, Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and
collaboration provide an organizational focus on communicating with
suppliers on the many steps of the Supply Management process. This focus
reduces the lead-time and total cost of acquisition, transportation,
administration, and possession of goods and services for the benefit of
both the buyer and seller, and as a result, provides a competitive
advantage and improved profits.
Relationship Management
This course covers one subset of Supply
Chain philosophy, and presents theoretical discussions on Supplier
Relationship Management and its benefits, as well as practical case
studies that provide evidence of such benefits. The course also covers
the practicality of SRM, provides encouragement, and prevents a purely
academic or theoretical view of Supplier Relationship Management.