SRM
What is supplier relationship management (SRM)? According to Gartner Consulting (2001, p. 2), SRM is ‘a set of methodologies and practices needed for interacting with suppliers of products and services of varied criticality to the profitability of the enterprise’. When and why should a company invest in close supplier relationship VIPER is a model used to determine the value the organization needs and wants to realize from the supply base (Figure 1 ). VIPER stands for Value , Innovation , Performance improvements, Effectiveness (of business and operations) and Risk . VIPER defines different requirements and the reasons for initiating some sort of relationship or intervention with a supplier. There is a natural correlation between the nature of relationship organizations establish with suppliers and the nature of value that is important in each case (Figure 2). This correlation reflects what organizations tend to do, rather than wha