Supplier relationship management (SRM) is the strategic approach of deliberately developing relationships with important suppliers so that both sides gain more value over time.
SRM and SPM. SPM answers how well a supplier delivers. SRM answers how the relationship is developed. Performance management supplies the data, SRM uses it.
Segmentation. Not every supplier merits relationship investment. SRM therefore starts by classifying suppliers by importance and spend and allocating attention accordingly.
Typical activities. Regular business reviews, joint improvement programmes, innovation workshops, risk assessment.
For services. In practice, SRM for services usually concerns only a small circle of strategic providers, such as master agreement partners with high repeat volume.