Tesco Supplier Survey

There’s nothing new about using surveys to get to know your customers better, or to find out what motivates your staff. But what about your supplier? In a world where the best suppliers can increasingly choose which retailers they work with, managing those relationships is absolutely crucial to ensure a consistent supply of quality products – and satisfied customers.

An unhappy customer doesn’t hesitate to tell you where you’re going wrong. But an unhappy supplier may conceal his discontent until it’s too late. He may feel he has good business reasons to keep his worries to himself, and the first you’ll know of it is when he brings the relationship to an end. With increasing competition among retailers for the best goods, it’s becoming crucially important to listen to your suppliers.

Change Management Group’s groundbreaking supplier surveys help retailers to understand motivations and satisfaction levels among their suppliers, uncovering issues that need to be addressed and providing a solid set of performance indicators for measuring future progress.

Outsourcing the survey process to a trusted third-party means that the suppliers have a real platform to express their views frankly – and anonymously. So they feel valued, and you get the real story.

For Tesco, the goal is 360° market intelligence: that means understanding motivations and behaviours across the supply chain, from end to end and from every angle. Since 2003, Change Management Group’s Supplier Insight Surveys have helped Tesco to pursue this valuable aim.

“I’m heading up the team that’s rolling the Tesco supplier survey programme out internationally: the first phase alone covers almost 6,000 suppliers in 12 countries, speaking 10 languages. The logistical challenges are obvious, but there are more subtle barriers to overcome. We have to be extremely sensitive to the cultural differences in different territories when we’re interpreting our findings. For example, take the word ‘aggressive’ – almost always a criticism in the UK, it’s often meant as a compliment in US business circles!”

Senior Consultant, Change Management Group

“Tesco Supplier Survey is an important feedback mechanism from our entire supply base on how we are working together. It enables us to celebrate what’s good and identify what can be improved.”

Richard Brasher, Commercial and Marketing Director, Tesco