# Improve Supplier Performance

Turn supplier execution into a competitive advantage – so product shows up on time, in full, and shelf-ready, with fewer surprises and fewer rush shipments.

## The Problem: When Supplier Performance Lags

#### No warning, then breakdown

You don’t just have a supplier performance problem, you have an execution visibility problem. Late, short, or incorrect shipments are discovered after they’ve already disrupted flow.

#### Scorecards stuck in the past

Static, delayed, and debated scorecards. By the time you share them, teams are arguing about the data instead of fixing the breakdown.

#### Human middleware overload

Your best people spend cycles pulling reports, chasing answers, and escalating issues—while the same offenders keep resurfacing.

## Why This Problem Exists

Supplier performance is hard because it lives between companies, and most tools only see one side of the story. Data is scattered, expectations are inconsistently enforced, and “improvement” turns into a monthly scramble instead of a managed program.

#### Siloed systems. No single truth.

EDI, receiving, inventory, AP, and email each tell a different version of what happened.

#### No ownership means issues repeat.

Even when issues are found, there’s no consistent workflow to assign ownership, track corrective action, and confirm resolution.

#### Scattered rules cause inconsistent execution.

Vendor guides, routing rules, labeling standards, delivery windows—suppliers miss updates and teams enforce inconsistently.

#### Suppliers aren’t fully adopting your standards

If suppliers aren’t onboarded to your expectations – and kept aligned as they change – performance programs stall.

## Keeping Up With Change While Driving Momentum

#### Connect

Foundation Layer

Before suppliers can perform, they need clarity and alignment. SPS helps you operationalize expectations and bring suppliers onto a consistent way of working—so execution improves at the source, not after the damage is done.

So you can:

- Supplier onboarding to your business expectations 
Align suppliers to your requirements, timelines, and processes—without your team doing the chasing. 
Why network makes it better: Proven onboarding motions at scale help suppliers adopt faster and stay aligned.

- Centralized requirements and relationship clarity
Give suppliers one place to access what “good” looks like—and who to contact when things change. 
Why network makes it better: Changes can be communicated and reinforced consistently across your ecosystem.

- Standardized data exchange to reduce ambiguity
Establish clean, consistent operational signals, so performance conversations start with facts, not finger-pointing.

Why network makes it better: Shared standards reduce partner-by-partner variance.

#### Orchestrate

Workflow Automation

Supplier performance doesn’t improve because you measured it. It improves because you act on it—consistently. SPS helps you run a repeatable loop: detect issues → route them → resolve them → document outcomes.

So you can:

- Exception-first operations
Surface the few issues that matter most, faster—so teams stop drowning in noise.

- Manual work eliminated: Less report pulling, fewer status meetings, fewer escalations.

- Cross-team alignment on ownership
Coordinate merchandising, supply chain, DC, and suppliers around the same outcomes; route to merch, DC, and supplier with SLAs.

- Manual work eliminated: Less “who owns this?” thrash, more momentum.

- Track-to-closure collaboration
Create a clear path from issue to resolution—so the same mistakes stop showing up next week.

- Manual work eliminated: Fewer ad hoc emails and spreadsheet trackers.

#### Optimize

Intelligence Layer

When you learn from every breakdown, performance stops being reactive. SPS helps you spot patterns, prevent repeats, and continuously raise the bar—so you can orchestrate from item setup to sell-through performance.

So you can:

- Visibility to underlying problems
Identify chronic issues by supplier, lane, category, or DC – then target improvement where it pays back.

- Early signals before the shelf feels it
Move from “what happened?” to “what’s likely to happen next?” so you can intervene sooner

- Continuous improvement that sticks
Build a durable program—not a quarterly scorecard ritual.

## Measurable Results

When coordination work is removed, integration becomes an advantage instead of a burden.

5%  
### Reduction in stockouts (through improved on-shelf availability)

40%  
### Productivity gain in PO management

### 6 months
Payback period

360%  
### ROI over three years (on average)

## Real Results From Real Customers

#### “I felt like [SPS] already had a strategy in place to keep a regular pulse with those suppliers. It just felt like a very organized approach.”

Brian Dent, Procurement & Global Logistics Manager | HOM Furniture

#### Key Results

- Better visibility into supplier challenges enabled faster adjustments and greater agility

- Reduced manual processes and time spent coordinating with individual suppliers

- Progress toward a 90%+ in-stock goal by streamlining operations and onboarding partners

#### “With SPS, we have true visibility into our entire operation.”

Marty Hahn, Director of Vendor Relations, GNC | Global specialty health, wellness and performance retailer

#### Key Results

- Raised ASN compliance from 76% to 92%

- Gained complete visibility into the purchase order lifecycle

- Isolated causes of trouble shipments and vendor compliance problems

## Related Challenges

#### Reduce Stockouts & Protect On-Shelf Availability

Supplier execution shows up as availability. Improving performance reduces the disruptions shoppers actually feel.

[Cut stockouts — show me how →](https://www.spscommerce.com/products/supply-chain-performance-suite/performance-management/)

#### Improve Purchase Order and Shipment Accuracy

Performance improves faster when the signals (POs, ASNs, receipts) are consistent and trusted.

[Make POs & ASNs bulletproof →](https://www.spscommerce.com/products/supply-chain-performance-suite/)

#### Strengthen Supplier Collaboration

Clear expectations + shared facts turn supplier conversations from friction to forward progress.

[Get suppliers on the same page →](https://www.spscommerce.com/products/supply-chain-performance-suite/relationship-management/)

## Let’s discuss your specific situation and how SPS Commerce can help.

[Talk to an Expert](https://www.spscommerce.com/supplier-performance/)  
[Get a Demo](https://www.spscommerce.com/contact)  
[Contact Sales](https://www.spscommerce.com/contact/ "Contact Sales")