To attain value-added outcomes, procurement and supply chain work closely with all stakeholders by investing in strategies to map and plan communication at every stage that can impact the overall success of the purchase process.

Positive engagement with stakeholders improves outcomes as it minimizes obstacles in the supply chain process. Lack of stakeholder engagement poses risks to the business, such as budget variances and missed deadlines (Lysons, 2020).

Building good relations with all stakeholders, including internal teams and suppliers, enhances stakeholder management. It helps evaluate their impact on the business and determine ways to achieve collaborative effort.

Further, good relations build trust, adopt open costing, and eliminate conflicting roles.

The second way to attain added value in supply chain and procurement is through regulatory compliance and recognition of its importance in organizational processes. A business can take informed action to promote added value solutions with internal stakeholders and suppliers through this strategy.

Supply chain processes can present compliance risks like fraud, corruption, export controls, sanctions, health and safety laws, and environmental and social compliance requirements.

Personnel in procurement and supply should conduct a compliance risk assessment to determine specific compliance issues in the business model to prevent noncompliance and related consequences that can disrupt the supply chain.

One of the ways to ensure compliance with necessary regulations is through developing a policy framework. Procurement and supply personnel should define a framework for policies guiding internal processes that address rules and regulations in the supply chain (Basu, 2017). The framework may incorporate codes of conduct and measures to enforce external and internal stakeholders’ cooperation.

Another way to promote regulatory compliance is by implementing a supplier qualification process. This factor describes responsibilities required during the initial stages of deployment and deals with supplier due diligence. Procurement teams should gather accurate information about suppliers’ qualifications, certifications, and quality standards. Reviewing suppliers’ regulatory compliance should be the basis of onboarding, where failure should eliminate them from any contract engagement. A monitoring process is also crucial to ensure that suppliers maintain compliance systems. The use of audits and corrective action helps to ensure that suppliers comply with all necessary rules and regulations governing business processes.

This article was contributed by our expert Anupam Chowdhury

Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Anupam Chowdhury

Q1. How do you engage with stakeholders in procurement?

The following should be taken care of to engage the stakeholders:

• Know the stakeholders  (Where are they, what are they looking for, how can they can be related to our initiative)
• Get them on board ASAP  (To avoid any surprises)
• Listen to the stakeholder open-mindedly
• Proper and regular communication  
• Adoption of policy
• Creation of communities for learning and a growing environment

Q2. What are the examples of stakeholder engagement strategies methods?

Dubai Police

While many of their social media posts are serious and informative, Dubai Police Se is known for mixing humor, advice, awareness and puns where appropriate on their Facebook and Twitter pages. With over 1.9 million Twitter followers and .76 million Facebook followers, an impressive 40% of Dubai (estimated) like to stay in touch with their content. Dubai Police use their social media platforms to get the public involved in reporting people of interest and awareness.

Q3. What are the four components of the compliance framework?

Risk assessment by the leadership:

• Standards and Controls
• Training and Communications
• Oversight

Q4. What are the key compliance issues?

• Corrupt and illegal practices
• Privacy breach
• Environmental changes
• Process risk
• Health and safety