Just for the heck of it, I decided to "parse" the e-mail below and respond
to that.
At 12:32 AM 02/18/2002 -0500, John Thornton wrote (re the subject line above):
>I am posting a request received from a member of our staff here at the School
>of International Business. Any suggestions for here?
Yes. First off, may I suggest that you clarify your colleagues' requests
instead of simply forwarding them?
That little snit of mine out of the way, let's look at Ms. Stack's request:
>She asked:
>
> > Can anyone help me find information/expertise on "developing and
> implementing
> > strategies to measure performance of organisations' preferred suppliers in
> > the services sector"?
For me, the first key word is "strategies." Strategy refers to HOW a goal
or end is to be attained. In this case, the end in view seems to be that
of measuring the performance of organizations' preferred suppliers in the
services sector. I suspect that's short-sighted of me. So, let's flip it
around:
Sector = Services
Segment = Suppliers
Differentiator = Preferred
Target = Performance
Issue = Measuring
Task(s) = Develop & Implement
Objects = Strategies
The bottom line here seems to be "How can we measure the performance of
"preferred" suppliers in the services sector?"
Any time I see a "how" (or strategy) question, I conclude that the end in
mind is not necessarily the end in view. That leads me to ask "Why?" Why
do you want to measure the performance of preferred suppliers in the
services sector? Are you thinking about changing suppliers? Are you
thinking about shifting from just preferred suppliers? Are you wondering
what you're getting for the probable premium you're paying?
Hmm. Here's what I think: A "customer organization" (i.e., one or more
executives) is feeling disadvantaged in relationships with "preferred"
suppliers and would like to tilt the balance of power in his/her
favor. That entails being able to state with some certainty just what it
is that sets a "preferred supplier" apart from suppliers in general. This
is also central to being able to press for improved performance from any
supplier, regardless of status. Suppliers are on the input side. Focusing
on the input side typically reflects pressures on the output (expenses)
side or on the difference between outputs and inputs (profits).
All this leads me to my bottom line: "Why do you want to measure the
performance of preferred suppliers?" Assuming you can put the performance
of preferred suppliers on some kind of ratio scale, how will the customer
organization benefit?
Regards,
Fred Nickols
740.397.2363
nickols@att.net
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm