Supplier Identification+

Add comment July 27th, 2007 David Bush - Iasta

To follow from yesterdays post, there is this article from Supply Management in the UK. Although not nearly as comprehensive about the subject, it does have a few interesting tidbits.

“The predominant source is our own knowledge and that of our colleagues,” said Shaun Evans, supplier relationship manager at Britannia building society.

References were also said to be faster and more reliable than internet claims. “Googling a selection on the internet may need lots of additional time to make supplier evaluations,” said Ada Jiang, a buyer at sportswear manufacturer TS Group in Hong Kong. “To shorten the time from sourcing to production, we turn to customers or friendly purchasers for supplier recommendations.”

However, many buyers say they carry out initial research online, citing ease of use, flexibility and speed as the benefits.

Spend Matters also had some detail on this subject which actually stated that web searching was passing word of mouth as a primary method of supplier research and discovery - directly contradicting the SM quote.

Entry Filed under: General, Suppliers, Technology