Supplier management is one of the most troublesome disciplines within a management system. There’s nothing inherently difficult about it, though. Companies make it difficult by instilling the process with lots of unwieldy bureaucracy. The trick is to strip the process down to its essential elements, doing only those activities that add value. Let’s take a look at some of the typical elements of supplier management and discuss some lean approaches for each.

Selecting suppliers

Selecting suppliers is a remarkably easy task. Think about what drives your purchasing decisions when you’re using your own money; this same criteria make sense for your company. Here are some common-sense selection factors:

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