Supplier Engagement Surveys Made Simple

A simple way to increase supplier engagement is to utilize your RFI tool.

Most organizations list supplier engagement as a top goal.

Motivated suppliers help your bottom line and organizational efficiency.

If it is a headache to do business with your company, many suppliers will look for other business partners.

Your RFI tool can help you automate the process if you follow some simple rules.

Here are some tried and true guidelines to increase participation:

  • Keep it short – it should take no more than 30 minutes to complete – 10 is a great number of questions
  • Use multiple choice answers with a scale of 1 to 5 for 80% of the questions (this will allow your RFI tool to automatically summarize the results)
  • Don’t ask about challenging issues if you aren’t ready to fix them
  • Provide instructions for essay questions indicating the maximum size of the answer in characters
  • Provide a summary of the survey to all participants

Here is a short list of questions for you to consider for your survey:

  • How would you rate your opportunity to win our business in each event?
  • Please rate your overall experience in working with us.
  • How would you rate our response time during events?
  • Do you see your company continuing as a supplier for us for the next 5 years?
  • What would be one change that we could make to improve the RFP process? I like surveys that utilize multiple choice suggestions to make this easier.
  • What changes would make it easier for you to provide timely bids? Multiple choice is a good strategy for this question.
  • Are there other products or services that you offer that we may not be aware of?
  • Would you like the opportunity to discuss ways we can increase collaboration? It may be smart to only ask this for key spend categories.

Supplier relationships should grow and evolve.

Here are some other ideas for your review:

  • Share the complete results internally with all stakeholders. Don’t hide the problem areas.
  • Celebrate the solid ratings and create a plan to solve the issues.
  • Call every supplier that wants to discuss ways to increase collaboration. 

2020 can be your best year ever.

It all starts by asking good questions.

Action Step: Finding the right tools for your needs can be a challenging process but it doesn’t have to be. If you are uncertain where to start the process of change, a procurement professional like myself can provide guidance and expertise to help your organization achieve the results you want. If you want to go explore this topic in greater detail, please contact me. I invite you to request 30-minute discovery conversation. In my experience the next step will be apparent at the end of the call. I never assume that what I have to offer will be right for everyone, so don’t expect a sales pitch. You can reach me at 973-936-9672. 

If you would like to know more ways to reduce costs without changing the way you do business, simply give me a call or send me an email with your contact information and the best time to reach you.

You Won’t Drift to Success©

Commit to taking the next step.

Until Next Time, I Wish You Great Success in Your Business and in Your Life

Mike Jeffries