Supplier relationship management practices in the public sector
A baseline assessment of supplier relationship practices (SRM) in the public sector shows that the government is developing according to global best practice.
Conducted by New Zealand Government Procurement (NZGP) and State of Flux (SoF) – a global leader in SRM, the assessment included a detailed analysis of government SRM practices, as well as agency interviews and surveys.
The analysis looked at both internal and external practices. The internal assessment reviewed practices against six principles of best practice: value, engagement, governance, people, technology and collaboration. The external assessment examined how suppliers view their relationship with the government against six attributes: growth and innovation, sustainability, commercial, transactional, relationship management and our ‘customer of choice’ status.
The report offers a number of suggestions to improve governance, capability, systems and supplier relationships and will be used by NZGP to develop the Government Supplier Relationship Management programme toolkit and roadmap.
Government Supplier Relationship Management programme
The aim of this programme is to use SRM to reduce risk and manage relationships in order to deliver more value for government. Working collaboratively with suppliers that support government to meet our strategic priority areas is a key focus.
The toolkit being developed will provide guidance and tools aimed at lifting capability within agencies and developing more consistent practices across government over time, particularly with strategic suppliers. Together with the roadmap, it will address several of the recommendations set out in the Auditor General’s Strategic Suppliers: Understanding and managing the risks of service disruption report.
More work is required to solve how best to manage relationships with suppliers that have multiple contracts and relationships across government.
We would like to thank all agencies and suppliers that have contributed to the current state assessment, in particular the SRM community of practice and working group members.
If you would like a copy of the current state report email the SRM team.