Integrity is the Color of Inclusion The vendor-gate is where the engagement for new business opportunities begin.  Suppliers wanting to supply goods and services to a major corporation have to start at the same entry point.  Major buying organizations staff the vendor-gate with managers responsible for reporting the progress of the corporations’ supplier engagement efforts.  ...more Offered on 3/15/05 by Dean L. Jones, C.P.M.
Best Viable Practice
Staffing is the most important element of all supply resources operations.  Particularly as it relates to ethics and the integrity of the processes.  Human Resources should have critical input on how the selection takes place for the leaders assigned to supplier resources management. A traditional method for staffing the VIABLE process is that of having a manager and three direct reports.  Each of the staff members have interdependent and distinct functions including (1) Outreach and Sourcing; (2) Second-tier and strategic alliances; and (3) Database management and statistical reporting. That is a general operational layout, but not the optimal formation of operating a top brass supplier engagement program.  The top director for supply, operations, and procurement should have 100% responsibility for ensuring fair supplier engagement procedures.	The top person responsible in some companies is the controller.  When that is the case, then that is the ultimate person responsible for making all managers that influence or direct outside supply resources accountable for their selection actions. The Chief Executive Officer should of course have the ultimate responsible, but that is so cliche, since he/she is ultimately responsible for everything about the organization.  The checks and balances for supply resources is normally taken out of the picture of consistent practices because their are no watch dog agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or Fair Labor Practices board as with personnel discrepancies. This is why it is so critical that internal processes be established and monitored by an ethics officer position of an organization to ensure social and economic fairness of the supply resource management.