Understand Suppliers: Dream, Capacity & Execution | Beyond Sasa
Understand Suppliers - Beyond Sasa

🤝 Understand Suppliers

Know who supplies your organization, understand what they provide, recognize the resources they make available, and connect supplier relationships to the Dream, Capacity and Execution of your organization.

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Why Understand Your Suppliers?

Suppliers are connected to the resources your organization needs to operate and serve its customers. Understanding your suppliers helps you know what is available, where resources come from, what you need to purchase, how supplier relationships support your capacity, and what must be done to keep execution moving.

Begin With Four Questions

Start with the questions that connect suppliers to the purpose and practical work of your organization.

01
Who Supplies Us? Know the suppliers connected to your organization.
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02
What Do They Provide? Understand the products, services and resources available.
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03
What Do We Need to Purchase? Connect supplier information to purchasing decisions.
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04
What Must We Do? Turn supplier knowledge into purposeful execution.
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Know Your Suppliers

Supplier knowledge becomes useful when you understand the people, products, relationships and resources connected to purchasing.

Suppliers Know the suppliers who provide resources to your organization.
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Products Understand what products and resources each supplier provides.
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Resources Identify the resources your organization receives from suppliers.
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Purchases Connect supplier relationships to purchasing activity.
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Supplier Relationships Understand the relationships that support consistent supply.
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Know, Listen and Understand

Good supplier management begins with useful information, communication and continuous understanding.

Supplier Information Keep useful information about the suppliers you work with.
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Supplier Communication Maintain communication around orders, needs and expectations.
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Purchasing Connect supplier information with purchasing decisions.
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Review Review supplier activity and learn what needs attention.
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Suppliers Through Dream • Capacity • Execution

Supplier knowledge becomes more powerful when it is connected to what the organization wants to achieve, what it has available, and what it must do.

Dream What are we trying to achieve?
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Capacity What resources, relationships and competencies do we have?
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Execution What must we purchase, coordinate, receive and use?
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Dream

The Dream gives supplier relationships direction. It helps the organization understand why particular resources and relationships are necessary.

The Dream Gives Supplier Relationships Direction Know what the organization is trying to achieve before deciding what resources and supplier relationships are required.
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Capacity

Supplier relationships are part of organizational capacity. Understand the people, resources, systems and relationships that make purchasing and supply possible.

Individual Capacity Who has the ability to manage supplier relationships and purchasing?
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Department Capacity What capacity exists within departments responsible for purchasing and supply?
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Stock Know what resources are currently available.
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Resources Understand what resources the organization needs and receives.
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Competencies Develop the skills required to manage suppliers and purchasing effectively.
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Execution

Understanding suppliers becomes practical when supplier knowledge is translated into purchasing, receiving, recording and review.

Plan Identify what needs to be purchased and when.
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Choose Know which suppliers can provide the resources required.
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Purchase Execute purchasing based on actual organizational needs.
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Record Keep accurate records of purchases and supplier activity.
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Receive Connect purchased resources to stock and availability.
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Review Review supplier activity and improve future execution.
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What Understanding Suppliers Helps You See

Supplier knowledge gives the organization a clearer view of the relationships and resources behind its daily operations.

Who Supplies Us Know the suppliers connected to your organization.
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What They Provide Understand the products and resources available.
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What We Have Connect purchases and suppliers to current stock.
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What We Purchase Understand purchasing activity and resource needs.
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What Customers Need Connect supplier resources to what customers require.
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What We Should Do Use supplier information to support practical decisions.
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Keep Asking Three Questions

These questions keep supplier knowledge connected to organizational action.

01
Who Supplies Us? Know the relationships and resources available to us.
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02
What Do We Need? Identify the resources required for the Dream.
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03
What Must We Purchase and Do? Turn supplier knowledge into purposeful execution.
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Understand Your Suppliers. Know Your Resources. Execute With Purpose.

Supplier knowledge connects relationships, resources, purchasing, stock and execution to the larger purpose of the organization.

SUPPLIERS → RESOURCES → CAPACITY → PURCHASES → EXECUTION
BEYOND SASA Dream • Capacity • Execution
Understand Your Suppliers. Know Your Resources. Execute With Purpose.