I hope that you have enjoyed the article “Supplier Scorecarding: Just The Beginning?“

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The point of the article was that you should avoid the trap that has ensnared many a procurement department: thinking that implementing a supplier scorecard is the last task in your supplier management strategy. Let me say this in straightforward terms – if you engage in supplier scorecarding but do nothing beyond completing scorecards and sharing scores with suppliers, your supplier management program is useless.

So, what should you do if you have a supplier scorecard but no real idea on what to do with it?

Here are just a few things:

• Review the scorecard with a supplier executive who actually has the authority to make the changes necessary to improve supplier performance;
• Document agreed-upon corrective actions and place timelines on those actions;
• Stay in regular contact with the supplier throughout the period during which the supplier is supposed to be making improvements to determine how well timelines are being adhered to;
• Either (a) track supplier changes to actual improvements in performance, (b) revise the corrective action plan if the results are not satisfactory, or (c) move on to Plan B.

What is Plan B?

It could be moving on to another supplier. It could be in-sourcing work previously done by a supplier. But what it is not is accepting business as usual.

You do have a Plan B, don’t you?