How to Develop a Vendor Engagement Strategy

DSO Insiders & Industry Partners: It’s Time We Closed the Gap Adding additional thoughts and insights to my last post - having sat on "both sides" of the table: 🧩 DSOs and Vendor-Partners are often speaking different languages: + Operators are overwhelmed with growth goals, compliance pressures, staffing issues, and systems that don’t talk to each other. + Vendors are trying to land meetings, hit quota, and get a foot in the door. The result? Missed opportunities and surface-level partnerships that don’t last. Let’s work to fix that. 💭 Here’s what BOTH sides can do to build better outcomes: FOR VENDOR-PARTNERS SELLING INTO DSOs: 💠Stop Selling Products—Start Solving Problems Before you pitch, ask yourself: “What business objective does this align to? Who wins if this works?” 💠Match Their Speed and Complexity DSOs don’t move fast on purpose. There are layers. Respect the decision flow and build allies inside. 💠Support Beyond the Sale Implementation is where trust is either built or lost. Be the partner that stays in the room once the ink dries. FOR DSO LEADERS WORKING WITH VENDOR-PARTNERS: 💠Communicate Your True North Most reps want to help—but they need context. Share your goals, pain points, and initiatives upfront. 💠 Invite Collaboration, Not Just Procurement Bring your best vendor-partners into the strategy early. They can’t solve what they can’t see. 💠Reward Long-Term Thinking Shift incentives toward sustainable impact, not short-term savings. Strategic vendors rise when given the chance. 💡 The best outcomes happen when both sides treat each other like true partners, not opponents. In today’s DSO environment, alignment is everything. Complexity demands collaboration. Let’s move past the transactional and build something transformational! #DSO #Dentistry #DentalSales #VendorStrategy #HealthcareLeadership #DSOGrowth #SalesLeadership #DentalConsulting

Suppliers can make or break a Procurement team. And yet, supplier relationship management (SRM) remains an underutilized tool for many teams because of lack of time, resources, or know-how. 💡What is an SRM framework? A set of structured strategies and processes intended to enhance supplier performance and build relationships that can deliver a competitive edge. 💡 How do you use it? 1️⃣ Segment suppliers so the right SRM approach can be administered to each supplier. Make use of Kraljic matrix, preferencing, etc. I managed Spices commodity - a market with many suppliers and many customers. The category was largely transactional with the exception of some high profitability SKUs. 2️⃣ Measure supplier performance with defined KPIs and assess regularly to provide actionable feedback. It requires regular upkeep. A client of mine faced supplier performance issues repeatedly across several locations. There were no agreed upon metrics so there was no reliable way to track performance and deliver improvements. A scorecard solved the problem, even if it took months to roll out. 3️⃣ Build relationships through specific strategies based on segmentation. Set up recurring update calls. They are a great way to stay abreast of supplier performance, stakeholder feedback, new business needs, and changing market conditions. I had a bottleneck category with a development supplier. mutual win was to leverage the supplier’s innovation capability while de-risking supplies. So, our meetings would cover supply market risk + NPD discussions. 4️⃣ Assess and mitigate risk Identify risks associated with each supplier, be it financial, supply disruption, sustainability, etc. Risk can be rolled into the performance score card as well. Mitigation plans can include alternate supplier development, or build in contingency plans. 5️⃣ Manage relevant aspects through contracts Usually a part of category strategy development, but deserves special mention when obligations must be contractually defined (for ex., strategic alliances, performance improvement plans, etc.) 6️⃣ Ensure alignment with Procurement and Business goals The ultimate goal of any SRM program is to further overall business objectives. During the COVID years, cost became a second priority to supply assurance across many categories. Many of us tinkered with our strategies to rebalance priorities. Supplier communications became far more frequent to better understand market conditions, waivers were given on key KPIs like On Time In Full, etc. 💡Why do I like it? It is a simple framework which is heavier in execution.. as it rightly should be, given that it takes time to build relationships. 💡What are the pitfalls of this approach? While the approach itself is solid, organizations face challenges due to poor data management coupled with a lack of integrated digital solutions that can seamlessly weave in SRM with day-to-day Procure-to-Pay activities including contract management.

Strategic supplier relationships are the foundation of any procurement team. Here are the top 5 rules to get it right: #1 - Define your objectives before you enter a supplier relationship. Define your desired outcome - be it cost reduction, innovation, quality improvement etc. This is critical to guide your Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) SRM strategy. #2 - Segment your suppliers. Not all suppliers contribute the same. Categorize your suppliers based on criticality, complexity and value so you can allocate your resources more effectively and tailor your approach to different supplier types. #3 - Don't neglect performance measurement assessment. Regularly measure agreed-upon metrics so you can identify areas for improvement and proactively address issues. Schedule regular meetings, performance reviews and feedback sessions to guide this along. #4 - Implement supplier risk assessment. Identify potential risks such as quality issues, external disruptions, regulatory compliance. Work WITH your suppliers to mitigate these issues. #5 - Many overlook this, but treat suppliers as a vital component of the business plan and as team members. You are partners in the supply chain. Share the vision, sell the relationship’s value, and gain buy-in. Cost efficiency is critical but avoid treating your suppliers purely like transactional entities and acknowledge the total value offered. Hammering your suppliers until they break = no bueno. What have I missed?! 🤔