‘From Customer of Choice to Customer Delight’ — State of Flux SRM survey needs your input

State of Flux has launched the survey that will inform its 17th annual global Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Research report. 

The report is known for being the most thorough interrogation of supplier relationships in a market that mostly focuses on supplier management. As a Spend Matters analyst noted in 2022, “State of Flux developed its approach based on the realization that many organizations practicing SRM do only Supplier Management. Supplier Management (vs SRM) is more of a one-way street where suppliers are considered simple necessities. By forgetting that the R in SRM stands for relationship, Supplier Management organizations are often missing value generated from partnerships with strategic suppliers beyond the traditional remit of procurement savings.”

Last year’s report centered this dynamic by making its theme ‘Return on Relationships.’ It explored the exact nature of the procurement process’s relationship with suppliers and how it influences procurement’s practices. During its research, State of Flux discovered that suppliers are responsible for up to 50% of the end-customer experience. For example, 68% of high-performing leaders and 45% of fast followers have improved end-customer satisfaction as non-financial benefits of their SRM programs — i.e., how your customer’s final experience changes due to your interaction with suppliers. This could involve higher product quality or service delivery. In contrast, only 27% of lower-performing organizations reported seeing similar benefits. 

This year, State of Flux decided to expand that data point into the theme of this year’s report: ‘From Customer of Choice to Customer Delight.’ In it, State of Flux will explore the ways developing and maintaining a strong supplier relationship impacts the end-customer experience. Not only does becoming your suppliers’ preferred customer translate to better financial deals, it also can result in your customer having a better experience, as your suppliers would be more willing to deliver better quality products and react more responsively to possible disruptions. Your organization sits as a node between two parties, and by improving the relationship at one end, you can smoothen the process flow towards your own customers. 

To create the report, though, State of Flux needs input from Procurement professionals who manage these relationships daily. Participants who invest the 20-ish minutes the survey requires to complete will receive the following tokens of appreciation:

• A detailed benchmark of your supplier management performance, measured against global peers to highlight strengths and improvement areas
• A personalised report with the option for a tailored debrief from our supplier management experts
• A printed copy of this year’s SRM Research Report, featuring key findings, real-world case studies and thought leadership from industry pioneers
• An exclusive invitation to attend the in-person SRM Summits in London, Chicago and Melbourne this October and November

The survey will remain open until 1 July 2025. State of Flux encourages participants to engage their organizations in a cross-functional manner so that the derived insights can best highlight how Procurement is engaging its supplier and where it can improve its practices.

Discover how being a customer influences your own customers and improve both your own procurement practices and those employed by the market today.