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Stephen C. Rogers
AMACOM Publishing Copyright 2009

It’s no secret that good supplier relationships are key to your business’s success. And it’s certainly easy enough to understand that certain strategies—high-volume buying for lower prices, for example—are tried and true money-savers and “safe bets” when building and maintaining supply chains. The trouble is, everyone does them. So although there is nothing wrong with such strategies, it’s a fallacy to believe that they create any true advantage over your competition.

The challenge comes in designing relationships that leave your competitors in the dust, by leveraging the capabilities and qualities that are unique to your organization. The Supply-Based Advantage first establishes exactly what is meant by moving beyond mere cost control to capture the alluring yet elusive concept of “sustainable competitive advantage.”

Global supply dynamics spawn a new complexity. Whereas it may have been possible previously to see each supplier’s role as discrete and self-contained, now you must manage a supply landscape in which multiple technologies, regulations, schedules, and even cultures must be reconciled. Couple this new reality with the ever-accelerating pace of change, and the scope of your challenge becomes clear. But you can do it—with the right information and tools.

Rogers, a veteran of corporate supply chain environments, has combined unparalleled experience with pointed examples from dozens of world-leading companies (Toyota, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Dow Chemical, Hewlett Packard, Harley Davidson and more) to present a clear view of how tomorrow’s market dominators will be designing and executing supply strategies that genuinely and fully integrate with marketing, finance, and overall corporate strategy. Specifically, The Supply-Based Advantage explains how your organization can capture total value, create renewable and mutual benefits, link supply elements more dependably with fulfillment objectives, and build flexibility into your supply chain so that you are ready to handle any unexpected or unique developments.

Rogers takes you through all the components of a successful supply strategy, including how to:

• Lay out your policies, principles and responsibilities toward potential suppliers.
• Match supplier competencies with your company’s needs and strategy.
• Use supplier relationships to support competitive advantage.
• Form a supply network by connecting the efforts of your individual suppliers to one another and, ultimately, to customers.
• Successfully manage suppliers.
• Facilitate communication and management initiatives across multiple functions and partnerships.

The book covers other important topics including the flow of information, money, and talent; the critical skill of continuous adjustment, and the multifaceted challenge of supply risk management.

Today’s supply chain and supplier management is more than an opportunity to save money and increase efficiencies. It’s an unprecedented chance to build long-standing strategic advantage and contribute directly to your organization’s rise to sustainable market dominance.

Stephen C. Rogers is a Senior Consultant with the Cincinnati Consulting Consortium, concentrating on Purchasing and Supplier Management and an Executive Professor (part time) at Xavier University. During his thirty years at Procter & Gamble, he had sourcing roles in every major business unit, and and, as the “father” of strategic sourcing at P&G, participated in the development and expansion of Procter & Gamble’s global sourcing efforts and the redesign of the Folgers Coffee supply chain. He was named a Supply and Demand Chain magazine “Pro to Know” in 2004 and served on the American Management Association's Supply Chain Council for ten years. Mr. Rogers lives in Cincinnati and can be reached by e-mail at armo@cinci.rr.com.

Reviews

Convinced that you are already getting the most out of your supplier relationships? Or, are you at the other end of the spectrum--captive to outmoded thinking that the main role of suppliers is simply to reduce prices? Regardless of where you currently sit on that continuum, "The Supply-Based Advantage: How to Link Suppliers to Your Organization's Corporate Strategy," by Steve Rogers, is a book you should read.

I know Steve well. He is co-author of another procurement book (with Doug Smock and myself): "On-Demand Supply Management (World-Class Strategies, Practices and Technology)." Steve's new book, an impressive solo effort, combines best practices with lots of examples to illustrate its points. It is well-written, comprehensive, and a very thoughtful read. In other words, don't expect to breeze through it in 90 minutes, as one part of a multi-tasking day. When you sit down to read this book, give it your undivided attention
-- Robert A. Rudzki President Greybeard Advisors LLC

Rogers' newest is an excellent example of what a business book should be. It is well researched, crafted and organized. Furthermore the book is liberally supplied with case studies as well as sprinkled with evidence of Rogers' sly humor.
-- Alan Hall

"Rogers outlines a common-sense approach to boosting profitability by using suppliers to capture value beyond price."
--Inbound Logistics

"All employees, especially executives, will benefit from reading this book. The outlined techniques are applicable to small and large companies."
-- Quality Progress