the way it manages risk , will be an important factor in dealing with future supply chain disruptions .
“ But , in all likelihood , the best way of managing disruption risk is to have a larger quantity of suppliers in your network . So , even though you may buy all of your products or commodity apps from a certain supplier – because , let ’ s say that ' s sufficient , administratively easy , or gives you leverage on your spend , in terms of driving prices – it ' s also much more risky than buying the same quantity spread between ten different suppliers .”
Managing suppliers , managing friends Thompson highlights that S2P software and technology means that a lot of the traditional downside of dealing with a host of suppliers have largely gone away because of digitisation .
“ Fifteen years ago , you would ' ve struggled to manage a hundred friends , but now you ’ re able to do so because of technology . In many ways , supplier management is a similar affair .”
Although it may seem an odd thing for him to say the above as a procurement professional , Thompson points out that he actually doesn ’ t like the term ‘ supplier ’. “ The reason ,” he says , “ is that ' supplier ' is actually a way of describing a company – and a company is like a node in the network , which is the economy .
“ Take myself , for example : I ’ m a colleague and a friend , I ' m a father and a husband – and I embody all of these different characteristics . But , behind them all , there ' s actually a person .”
“ Companies are considered to be
If , for example , you measure the United Kingdom ' s carbon output , we ' re fairly low down on the global stage , representing about 1 % of the global total . But if you look at it in terms of what we consume and what impact we have across the chain , it ’ s far more consequential than many would assume .
84 June 2023