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Advantage—a
private network
of more than
750 member
companies (aver-
age size $100M in
sales). Members such
as Collins and Ultra-
fryer draw upon the
expertise of the network’s
staff, its endorsed suppliers
and their fellow member companies.
Ultrafryer and other Prime Advan- tage members access the group’s endorsed suppliers through multiple channels, including a private intranet, although the company’s semiannual conference is the primary way to reach out to multiple suppliers in a short period of time. These three-day con- ferences offer networking and strategic- sourcing opportunities for all partici- pants. Collins and his Ultrafryer associates attend the conferences to hold one-on-one private meetings with potential suppliers, to discuss needs and strategies, as well as the suppliers’ ability to fulfill those needs.
Save Time, Save Money
“We have found this opportunity to sit down with so many suppliers to be a rigorous process that we would not be able to accomplish for even our top 15 suppliers each year,” says Bart Walker, general manager of Romac Industries, another Prime Advantage member company. Romac, Bellevue, WA, manufactures clamps, flanged couplings, sewer products and other products, and operates a custom fab- ricated steel-pipe division. “To accom- plish this within a three-day period,” Walker continues, “has made our sup- plier evaluation and selection process much more efficient, and has saved
Prime Advantage cus- tomer Ultrafryer Sys- tems, San Antonio, TX, manufactures commercial deep fryers for restaurant and commercial installations. “As a midsized company, we knew we had limited resources and expertise to devote to managing and enhancing our supply chain,” says Bill Collins, the firm’s general manager. “But, we also knew that doing so was critical to our future success.”
us a ton of money.”
Meeting with this many suppliers,
twice per year, enables members to enhance relationships with key sup- pliers at an executive level, as well as gain exposure to new supplier capa- bilities, new trends and even new sup- ply-chain options.
Risk Analysis and Supplier Performance Analysis
Most global manufacturers have for- malized supplier-evaluation systems in place that enable them to actively manage their supply networks. For example, when a supplier is continu- ously late with shipments, a spend management professional must iden- tify the infraction, quantify it, com- municate it to the supplier and imple- ment corrective action. Corrective action can take the form of a three- strike policy, monetary compensation, a combination of both, as well as other steps.
Yet, few small- to midsized manu- facturing companies have formal processes in place to track, evaluate and communicate supplier performance,
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