According to an HICX poll, 98% of suppliers believe they could do a better job communicating with their biggest clients.
The supply chain is already complex enough, but a recent survey suggests that large corporations may be adding to its complexity.
For its Voice of the Supplier Survey 2024, HICX, a company that provides businesses with a forum for their supplier experiences, polled 1,000 suppliers that work with big, international companies. It was discovered that a significant issue for many suppliers is their supplier experience.
“We discovered that there is still an issue with supplier experience,” HICX CEO Costas Xyloyiannis stated. Currently, 59% of suppliers find it difficult to provide their all for large clients, down from 61% in the poll conducted in 2021. This tiny improvement raises some red flags. It’s time this number dropped, as supply chain resilience is now so vital to company success in the modern economy.
According to the survey, communication is the main problem. The majority of respondents (98%) stated that improved communication is required with their largest clients.
Leaders who engage with suppliers in a friendly and modern manner are far too few in number. Instead, they are holding on to the notion of managing suppliers by first managing supplier transactions. Please understand that transactions are crucial. However, supplier collaboration is now more crucial in the landscape industry. Therefore, it’s necessary to rethink supplier management and prioritize teamwork, according to Xyloyiannis.
There isn’t enough, or at least not enough, collaboration. Almost 50% of those surveyed claimed that they struggle to answer clients’ questions, which makes their relationships more challenging. Many suppliers believe they are “too stretched to volunteer new ideas and find big customers unpleasant to work with,” according to the report.
According to the survey, suppliers feel they can provide better service, such as faster data transmission and quicker request response, if customers are simpler to work with.
“Given how important supplier relationships are to maintaining resilience in a world that is constantly changing, why don’t we provide suppliers with a more cooperative experience? Why do we not communicate with them more effectively? Reaching their peak? Finally, Xyloyiannis says, “Those leaders who get this right will create the opportunity to make their businesses truly competitive.”
