How do you encourage innovation from suppliers without increasing risk?
Had an internal conversation this week that got me thinking.
There’s been a push lately for suppliers to bring more ideas to the table. Not just deliver what we ask for, but suggest improvements. Cheaper materials, better processes, even small design tweaks.
But I feel that when I try to do it, it might actually create a friction. Since most of our suppliers are smaller players, and you can feel the hesitation. They don’t want to propose something that might backfire. And to be fair, we’re also quite cautious. One issue with a component and it can affect production pretty quickly.
So it ends up in this weird middle ground where everyone agrees innovation is important, but no one really moves first.
I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s a more structured way to approach this. Not just ask our suppliers for ideas, but actually set it up properly so it doesn’t create unnecessary risk.
I'm thinking of taking a structured approach regarding this matter. Has anyone come across a course or something practical that goes into this? Maybe around supplier collaboration or SRM in general.
Curious what others have tried, especially in setups where suppliers are more risk-averse.