Supplier-enabled innovation (SEI) is a subject close to my heart and a concept that Procurement Leaders has created a large amount of thought leadership and intellectual property about over the years.
From the launch of the Supplier Enabled Innovation Center a decade ago, to the development of playbooks and diagnostics, to the many thousands of words written about the potential value that can be created by collaborating more deeply with suppliers.
There’s no doubt that SEI is a beguiling concept, but there’s also no doubt that it has fallen off the radar of many procurement functions. Quite simply, there are more immediate fires to contain, and the twin urgencies of technology disruption and geopolitical chaos are consuming much of your average CPO’s mental bandwidth.
As I’ve said before, however, this is a mistake. If CPOs don’t harness the capabilities of the supply base and work collaboratively with suppliers on mutually beneficial programmes, they risk becoming irrelevant.
When we ask what human capabilities will be required in a future where technology carries out the tactical work, we often hear about relationship building and influence, or strategic thinking and judgement.
But who are we building relationships with? Who and what are we trying to influence? And what is it that we are supposed to be judging? Without the processes and frameworks in place to enable such capabilities to deliver value, they become just words. And this is where a systemised approach to SEI will become increasingly important.
So, when I see examples of companies doubling down on the topic, I see it as my duty to call it out and, on this occasion, it’s the turn of Swiss speciality chemicals company Clariant.
As a Procurement Leaders member, and also a keen participant in much of our early SEI work, Clariant needs no convincing of the benefits of systemised SEI. But while some companies have become distracted, Clariant has remained committed – evidenced by a recent whitepaper.
As CPO Nicola Comiotto (pictured above) says in the whitepaper: “By aligning our strategic goals with our supplier’s creative capabilities, we’re unlocking a fast track to mutual growth and delivering even greater innovation for our customers.”
In a separate post on LinkedIn, Klaus Brychcy, head of supplier innovation and sustainability at Clariant, explained the concept and his work.
“We want to build a more agile and connected innovation ecosystem,” he says. “That means expanding regional capabilities, deepening Business Unit engagement, and measuring success through outcomes such as new products, faster commercialisation, revenue growth, and sustainability progress.
“Our long-term goal is to make supplier collaboration an instrumental part of how Clariant innovates and grows – not a special initiative, but a common way of working.”
It makes complete sense, and it makes essential reading too.
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