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Even the largest companies find managing vendors a daunting task. If you get it wrong then you risk inadvertently penalizing potentially valuable suppliers with misguided, overly bureaucratic or costly processes. Worse the burdens placed on the vendors backfires on the customer entity itself as the customer is subjected to the increased operational costs of managing the ramifications of the ill-conceived or poorly implemented requirement through the vendor community, driving up its own operational costs and increasing frustrations for all, straining the customer-vendor relationship. Effective compliance programs balance the requirements with the capabilities of their suppliers, striving to educate instead of just inform. A well-run program should help vendors self-implement and control costs, not force vendors to rely on constant communication and increase costs for all trading partners involved.

Successful Supply Chain Vendor Compliance explains the technical, process and cultural elements that go into a successful compliance program. Norman Katz exposes the weaknesses in traditional programs and identifies the characteristics of well-managed programs that foster beneficial trading partner relationships. He shows how a well-executed vendor compliance program can control and decrease costs by reducing disruptions throughout the supply chain, from the distribution center to the data center to the corporate office.

Competition is fierce, and the right vendor can help you define a business model, react quickly to changes, and differentiate between you and your competitors.

See the latest Forbes article on Abusive Compliance Practices!

Author: Norman A. Katz