在通胀环境下降低供应商成本的 5 种方法供应压力提供了一个将价格与成本分开的**机会。5 ways to lower supplier costs in an inflationary environmentSupply pressures provide a golden opportunity to separate price from cost.没有什么比通货膨胀更能激发严肃采购专业人士的胃口了。除了运输和劳动力限制外，与大流行相关的供需不匹配为供应商创造了极高的成本环境。再加上美联储的政策变化和加息以减缓通胀螺旋，你就有了全面上涨的秘诀。买家将头埋在沙子中并宣布他们不会接受供应商的任何价格上涨是不合理的。相反，供应定价压力提供了一个将价格与成本分开的**机会。当前的通胀环境也是买家和卖家重新审视他们如何开展业务的机会。这里有五种方法可以利用潜在的价格上涨来利用其他节省并实际降低与供应商相关的成本。1. 检查贵公司的业务战略您无法在真空中创建采购策略，因此收集有关业务其他方面如何承受更高成本的信息至关重要。问以下问题：我们的销售和营销团队如何应对客户的定价压力？我们是在使用传递策略来提高价格，吃掉一些利润来让我们的客户满意，还是将市场份额拱手让给更好地管理成本的竞争对手？我们业务的长期前景如何？2. 确定关键供应商和商品我们都与对我们的业务产生巨大影响的供应商打交道，无论是原材料供应商、单一来源的技术公司、专业的 IT 服务，还是著名的监管和合规顾问。在此供应商识别活动中采用广泛的方法来确定潜在价格上涨的范围和影响。而且，顺便说一句，这不应该是一项新的努力，而是您正在进行的供应链风险缓解策略的一部分。3. 积极主动供应商不喜欢讨论涨价。这是尴尬和危险的。虽然买家也不想进行这些对话，但重要的是进行讨论以与您的供应商建立更深层次的关系。牢固的关系是给予和接受。您可以通过承认供应商面临的经济压力并对其保持敏感来减少或减轻增长。一个被动的谈判者可能没有太多的选择来增加，但一个积极的谈判者可能会。供应商总体上看他们的业务和利润。您不需要承担的价格上涨可能只是加载到另一个不那么专注、更难对付的客户身上。4. 发挥创意以抵消价格上涨我曾在一家以按条款支付账单并尽可能享受即时付款折扣而自豪的公司工作。通过协商改进付款条件，我能够抵消许多价格上涨。还有其他方法可以创造性地抵消价格上涨。考虑延长产品保修期、改进服务响应时间、免费或低成本耗材、高级产品培训、免费设计服务、寄售库存计划、折扣或免费送货，或任何其他有助于抵消采购订单的非价目表项目价格上涨。在某些情况下，这些附加产品的价值实际上可能是节省成本。5.不要污染定价通货膨胀期间的定价可能会波动。请注意不要在此期间锁定任何长期合约，因为当价格最终正常化时，您将陷入困境。选择附加费或其他不会影响您的标准成本的费用。并创建一个审查流程，允许减少或增加这些附加费。在保护您自己的业务的同时，让您的供应商保持完整。在这一切中，只要记住选择你的战斗。一次性商品供应商的价格是由市场驱动的，您在支付的价格上可能没有太多选择。竞争可能有助于保持价格一致，但不要在谈判中浪费太多时间。而是关注对您的业务和客户有重大影响的长期关键供应商。 There is nothing quite like inflation to whet the appetite of serious procurement professionals.Pandemic-related mismatches of supply and demand in addition to transportation and labor constraints have created an extremely high-cost environment for suppliers. Add in policy changes and interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to slow the inflationary spiral, and you have a recipe for prices increases across the board.It’s unreasonable for buyers to put their heads in the sand and announce they will not accept any price hikes from suppliers. Instead, supply pricing pressures provide a golden opportunity to separate price from cost.The current inflationary environment is also a chance for buyers and sellers to take a fresh look at how they conduct business. Here are five ways to take advantage of potential price increases to leverage other savings and actually reduce supplier-related costs.1. Check your company’s business strategyYou cannot create a procurement strategy in a vacuum, making it critical to gather information about how other aspects of the business are weathering higher costs.Ask the following questions: How are our sales and marketing team managing pricing pressures with our customers? Are we using a pass-through strategy for higher prices, eating some margin to keep our customers happy, or losing market share to competitors who are managing their costs better? What is the long-term outlook for our business?2. Identify critical suppliers and commoditiesWe all deal with suppliers who have an outsized impact on our business, be it a supplier of raw materials, a sole source technology company, a specialized IT service, or a renowned regulatory and compliance consultant.Take a broad-based approach in this supplier identification exercise to determine the scope and impact of the potential price increase.And, by the way, this should not be a new effort, but part of your ongoing supply chain risk mitigation strategy.3. Be proactiveSuppliers don’t like to have the price increase conversation. It is awkward and risky. And while buyers don’t want to have those conversations either, it's important to have the discussion to build deeper relationships with your suppliers.Strong relationships are give and take. You may be able to reduce or mitigate an increase by acknowledging and being sensitive to the economic pressures your suppliers face. A passive negotiator may not have much of a choice on increases, but an active one just might. Suppliers look at their business and margins in the aggregate. The price increase you don’t need to take may just be loaded onto another less focused, more difficult customer.4. Get creative to offset price increasesI worked for a company that took pride in paying its bills to terms and took the prompt payment discount whenever it could. I was able to offset many price increases by negotiating improved payment terms.There are other ways to creatively offset a price increase. Consider an extended warranty on products, improved service response times, free or low costs supplies, advanced product training, free design services, consigned inventory programs, discounted or free shipping, or any other non-price list item that will help offset a purchase order price increase. In some cases, the value of these additional offerings may actually be cost savings.5. Don’t contaminate pricingPricing during an inflationary period can be volatile. Be careful not to lock in any long term contracts during this time because you will be trapped when the prices eventually normalize.Opt instead for a surcharge or another fee that will not contaminate your standard costs. And create a review process that will allow for reductions or increases in these surcharges. Keep your suppliers whole while protecting your own business.Throughout it all, just remember to pick your battles. Prices from one-off commodity suppliers are market driven and you may not have much choice in what you pay. Competition may help to keep prices in line, but don’t waste too much time in negotiations. Focus instead on long term critical suppliers who have a major impact on your business and customers.转：https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/5-tips-how-inflation-offers-opportunity-lower-costs/624248/}