Ensuring two way information flow.
The firm must ensure that the supplier has all the information necessary for delivering the services or goods. The supplier must inform the customer of any internal issues that could affect the supply of goods and services. This could be related to resources or materials but it is important that the customer is aware of any potential risk to the delivery of goods or services in advance.
Mutual tolerance.
Both parties need to be tolerant of both changes that may not be there in the initial agreement and be prepared to adapt to fulfil the contract. There should be a shared interest and benefit. There is likely to better outcome in the long term. Multiple point of contact. (continuous consulting) A multi-tiered approach is desirable for creating a close working relationship. Multiple points of contact between the supplier‘s and customer organisation‘s will facilitate open dialogue at different levels, which binds the two organisations together. The nature of the communication may vary between person to person combining both formal and informal approaches. This produces a more holistic view of the delivery of the services or goods removing any bias or personality clashes.
Joint tracing.
The supplier and customer should be able to share their views on the problem and put forward suggestions for remedying in an honest and non-judgmental way. This builds cognitive trust and encourages risk-taking and innovation. Learning from mistakes is a
valuable way of creating service improvements and both organisations should work together to do this. Taking an interest in what the supplier wants, will motivate him to exceed your expectation?
Sharing success.
It is important that both suppliers and customers believe they will be more successful working together rather than separately. Removing the need for opportunistic behaviour, with one party exploiting the other to gain an advantage is necessary to create the
environment described in the previous section. A mechanism for sharing success should be agreed in advance, which will encourage cooperation and supports transparency and trust.
