Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•
busting a number of myths, for example, by showing that Spier was already
procuring from a large number of small enterprises and helping build
momentum for the pro-poor procurement approach which was adopted.
Several lessons were learned about how to conduct such an analysis effectively,
particularly the need to bring staff on board, and to develop a capture tool that
treated data objectively and was finely tuned to the priorities of the company.
Perhaps the most important step of all was to translate Spier's broad values and
the detailed information supplied into specific targets for managers, with associ-
ated monitoring of key performance indicators.
The process of bringing emerging small suppliers into the supply chain
proved challenging at first, but has become smoother over time. A number of
lessons were learned concerning critical factors that need to be in place to localize
the supply chain:
•
someone (in this case the PPT facilitator) with enough time to facilitate the
process, working intensively at first with the new supplier and staff;
•
a champion at senior management level to push the process forward;
•
structuring contracts into smaller chunks manageable for an emerging
company with limited capital; providing capital where necessary;
•
spending as much time changing how operational staff within the hotel work
with a supplier as time spent assisting the supplier;
•
a non-negotiable insistence on quality standards, combined with advice to the
supplier on how to achieve them, or where to source specialist technical input;
•
working to unblock small but potentially fatal logistical problems to the new
contract, such as on hours of delivery or access, storage, or transport access;
and
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maximizing communication, and ensuring that management of the new
contract is handed over to operational staff as part of their daily work, rather
than remaining outside the mainstream.
Conclusion and implications
It is clear from the experience of Spier, that change in the supply chain can
happen in three different ways, and is not just a matter of adding on one or two
new local suppliers. Reform can be via a number of routes.
1
Shifts in the overall procurement approach so that operational staff select not
only on price and quality but also on other pro-poor or environmental values.
The shift in the sustainability profile of suppliers may not be enormous, but
over a few years this approach can influence a substantial proportion of the
supply chain.
2
The incorporation of a number of small emerging suppliers into the supply
chain. The number will be limited by lack of supply capacity and the need for
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