2nd UPDATE SURVEY: Managing innovative suppliers in New Zealand

First preliminary insights from 50 respondents. 
!Only need 50 extra respondents!

HUNTING FOR NEW SUPPLIER IDEAS 

Finding a good innovative supplier seems more important than having a good contract or managing such a supplier.

CO-DEVELOPMENT WITH INNOVATIVE SUPPLIERS
Most important: Make very clear what you demand from your innovative supplier. Still least important: a good contract.

MORE ON MANAGING INNOVATIVE SUPPLIERS
- Innovative suppliers contribute to functionality.
- Focus on both the economic value & the technology that innovative suppliers provide.

- We use a wide range of criteria to select such suppliers
- Suppliers must be flexible and cooperative
- Supplier negotiations focus on cost, risks and opportunities.
- Relations are based on mutual goals, future opportunities, and early involvement.

WHO SAYS THAT SUPPLIER INVOLVEMENT IS BENEFICIAL?
- 37% of respondents are business owners. Respondents are experienced in management & strategy and somewhat less experienced in procurement or innovation.
- Respondents seem most satisfied with procurement activities with their innovative suppliers, and least satisfied with M&S activities with their innovative customers.
- Innovations with suppliers clearly seem more beneficial than innovations without suppliers. To a certain extent supplier involvement could (!) also result in more succesful green innovations.

SOME PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS
(Based on only 50 respondents). Innovation procurement could be different from our ‘normal’ procurement practices which in the NZ built environment often focuses on lowest price and delivery and a lower level of trust. The type of innovation and the entrepreneurial orientation could also influence procurement.

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First survey results - managing innovative suppliers

SURVEY: Managing Innovative Suppliers in the Built Environment

Dear all,

The number of respondents on via SurveyMonkey is gradually growing, but I need more respondents.

In this survey I am both interested in large and small companies, whether they consider themselves innovative or not, and whether they have intensive relations with innovative suppliers or not.

We will discuss findings from the survey, focussing on procurement practices of SMEs within the built environment when they manage their innovative suppliers. (AUT, 24 June).

All participants get a copy of the survey results, and have a change to win a hands-on book on improving business models. (See preview).

SMEs: New Zealand firms with less than 250 employees.
Built environment: construction, real estate, architects & design, engineers, builders, developers, building product suppliers, construction professionals, consultants, facilities management, etc.

Some wee first procurement practises from the survey. As yet without (!) ANY (!) statistical validity ....

• SPECIFICATION: respondents seem to focus on the economic value suppliers can provide; key suppliers seem to contribute to functional specifications.
• SELECTING SUPPLIERS: respondents seem to use a wide range of selection criteria, but also price and availability. Suppliers need to know the profiles of end customers.
• NEGOTIATING & CONTRACTING: respondents seem to focus on managing risks, and somewhat more on managing opportunities.  
• SUPPLIER RELATIONS: seem to focus on mutual learning for future opportunities.
• Trust with innovative suppliers and customers could both be seen as important. Respondents could have medium-to-high intense relations with several types of innovative suppliers. 
• It could be that innovations developed with suppliers could be somewhat be less incremental, than those developed for customers. 
• Turnover from supplier innovation could range from 0% to 90%. Innovations with supplier interaction could tend to be somewhat more positive for the firm and the natural environment, than without supplier interaction. 
• Respondents seem aware of the need to innovate with suppliers, but could be more satisfied with their internal innovation activities, Furthermore, they could be more satisfied with their innovation activities with their customers, than with their suppliers. 

In part these findings could align with results form our earlier interviews, in part these findings could differ from what literature learns us on small firm procurement. (But as in the current US elections, nothing is certain yet). 

Approx. 55% of current respondent firms have less than 100 employees.
Also, I like the fact that the respondents' background varies.
Of course I need much more data and deeper statistical analysis on to what extent (smaller) firms exhibit a specific procurement behaviour. And what the impact of the innovation type and entrepreneurial orientation is on this behaviour.

This will be the topic of the round-table discussion 24 June at the City Campus of AUT.
We need at least 25 participants from the small business community. So contact me if you are interested! (Click on my email address).
Exciting times for this small-firm procurement & innovation researcher.

You can help me by completing the survey now:
SURVEY: Managing Innovative Suppliers in the Built Environment