Managing suppliers

- Suppliers are an important part of your business…and you need to explain how you're going…to manage those suppliers.…In my view, you should do what you're great at…and focus on your core competencies,…and then partner, or outsource, everything else.…This is a critical strategic concept,…and if you'd like more detail on it…check out my strategic planning course…where I cover how to think about your core competencies,…and how to leverage them in the marketplace.…For your business, as you write your business plan,…think through what your major inputs…are to making your product,…and then, who are your suppliers.…

Do you have backups for those suppliers?…Do you have a diversity of sources,…to mitigate supplier risk?…How are you going to manage the costs…of the things you buy from your suppliers?…Do you intend to have long-term contracts?…Will you conduct a scheduled bid?…Will you have any partners, joint ventures,…alliances for key components?…Something like Intel Inside,…where Intel chips are in major computers…from a variety of manufacturers.…