Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 17, Issue 21;   May 24, 2017: Unresponsive Suppliers: II

Unresponsive Suppliers: II

by

When a project depends on external suppliers for some tasks and materials, supplier performance can affect our ability to meet deadlines. How can communication help us get what we need from unresponsive suppliers?
The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina

The Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina. Even though many glaciers have picked up their pace of late, a glacial pace is still too slow for most business applications. Photo by Bruno Camargo.

Poor communication — or no communication — is perhaps the most frustrating challenge confronting those who must work with unresponsive suppliers. We send email and get no response. We telephone, only to reach voicemail or be screened by someone who takes a message. Again, no reponse. We try calling at odd hours, hoping to catch our target unaware and unscreened, and when we do connect, we hear "I can't get that right now, but I'll get back to you." Right.

Only the supplier can control the supplier's behavior. What we control is our own behavior. Before applying other (possibly more coercive) methods of securing cooperation, ensure that your own house is in order. Here are some suggestions for encouraging cooperative behavior.

Limit the number of people empowered to contact the supplier
A single point of contact is usually enough, but if more are needed, keep the number small, and designate a principal contact. If you do have multiple contacts, don't contradict each other, do keep each other informed, and don't repeat messages to the supplier unnecessarily. To avoid turnover in the principal contact role, choose people who are unlikely to retire, or be terminated, or be reassigned. Favor people with experience in the role, and who are credible and possess a professional demeanor.
Be available and responsive
Difficulty in reaching people in your organization can elicit similar unavailability among people in the supplier organization. Be certain that the supplier can reach anyone when needed, by phone, voicemail, email, or text. Return all contact attempts promptly. Single-number unified mobile and desk-based telephone systems are essential.
Use the telephone
Telephone conversations are more effective than email messages, because they're more conducive to mutual understanding. Sadly, unresponsive suppliers are likely unavailable by telephone, but try anyway. Time zone differences can make telephone contact difficult, but if a live telephone conversation can resolve the problem, waking at 2 AM to make a phone call will be worthwhile.
Keep email messages short and focused
Because email Telephone conversations are more
effective than email messages,
because they're more conducive
to mutual understanding
traffic can become annoying, minimize it. Stick to one topic per message. Use a subject line that corresponds to the topic — don't recycle subject lines. Send messages only to the people who need to read them.
Limit the number and length of meetings
If supplier representatives are expected to attend face-to-face or virtual meetings, limit the length and frequency of the meetings. Conduct meetings with ruthless efficiency.
Notice early indications of unresponsiveness
If you suspect that the supplier might become unresponsive, conduct a few tests and log the results. Use this data to alert others on your team to the issue and ask them to report similar performance issues. If a problematic pattern emerges, decide what to do as a team, or solicit advice and assistance from elsewhere in your organization.

Next time we'll explore the special case of government suppliers — agencies, regulators, and others upon whom we depend for critical services. First in this series  Next in this series Go to top Top  Next issue: Unresponsive Suppliers: III  Next Issue

303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsIs your organization a participant in one or more global teams? Are you the owner/sponsor of a global team? Are you managing a global team? Is everything going well, or at least as well as any project goes? Probably not. Many of the troubles people encounter are traceable to the obstacles global teams face when building working professional relationships from afar. Read 303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams to learn how to make your global and distributed teams sing. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Conflict Management:

Lake Chaubunagungamaug signCreating Trust
What can you do when you discover that the environment at work is permeated with distrust? Your position in the organization does affect your choices, but here are some suggestions that might be helpful to anyone.
Theatrical poster for the 1944 film Double IndemnityPolitical Framing: Communications
In organizational politics, one class of toxic tactics is framing — accusing a group or individual by offering interpretations of their actions to knowingly and falsely make them seem responsible for reprehensible or negligent acts. Here are some communications tactics framers use.
Young chickensToxic Conflict in Virtual Teams: Dissociative Anonymity
Toxic conflict in teams disrupts relationships and interferes with (or prevents) accomplishment of the team's goals. It's difficult enough to manage toxic conflict in co-located teams, but in virtual teams, dissociative anonymity causes toxic conflict to be both more easily triggered and more difficult to resolve.
The Headquarters of the Public Employees Retirement Association of New MexicoSo You Want the Bullying to End: I
If you're the target of a workplace bully, you probably want the bullying to end. If you've ever been the target of a workplace bully, you probably remember wanting it to end. But how it ends can be more important than whether or when it ends.
Two bull elk sparring in Grand Teton National Park, WyomingKerfuffles That Seem Like Something More
Much of what we regard as political conflict is a series of squabbles commonly called kerfuffles. They captivate us while they're underway, but after a month or two they're forgotten. Why do they happen? Why do they persist?

See also Conflict Management and Project Management for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

A meeting in a typical conference roomComing April 3: Recapping Factioned Meetings
A factioned meeting is one in which participants identify more closely with their factions, rather than with the meeting as a whole. Agreements reached in such meetings are at risk of instability as participants maneuver for advantage after the meeting. Available here and by RSS on April 3.
Franz Halder, German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942And on April 10: Managing Dunning-Kruger Risk
A cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect can create risk for organizational missions that require expertise beyond the range of knowledge and experience of decision-makers. They might misjudge the organization's capacity to execute the mission successfully. They might even be unaware of the risk of so misjudging. Available here and by RSS on April 10.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at X, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunBad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job.
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
101 Tips for Managing ChangeAre you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt?
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.