Relationships turn bad when either or both parties stop listening to each other, and start acting on “inherited opinions” rather than facts. A bad supplier relationship is, at best, costly in the management time required to “put out fires” and at worst, hugely costly in terms of reducing time to market, developing innovation etc. Ultimately it can have a serious, material impact on your financial performance.
Often, relationship breakdowns can benefit greatly (and speedily) from external facilitation; facilitation with the purpose of ensuring that both parties actively listen to each other, with the aim of finding the root cause and, if willing, working together to find a way forward.
With over 28 years procurement and commercial experience across Financial Services, Insurance, Pharmaceutical, Retail and Aerospace sectors (Barclays, Aviva, Astrazeneca, Rolls-Royce, Centrica), Marriage-Stanley specialises in Technology Sourcing. This high-level experiential background provides deep and tested insights into the sourcing and contract negotiation of technology projects, with a specialism developed in the sourcing execution of payment technology, front office software, business applications and associated IT Services.
Key to our success is building meaningful, lasting relationships that foster trust. We listen intently to determine “what’s not been said” and above all (without fear or favour) we will tell our clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Our strongest asset is the ability to ask the difficult questions tactfully and sensitively, as the they often expose the “elephant in the room” and lead to a breakthrough in developing solutions.
Dennis Stanley
Managing Partner
+44 (0) 7812 192 754