Private Social Networks like Facebook and MySpace have seen a tremendous development in the last two years and the concept of social networking has spread to almost any area of private life. Also some corporations are slowly starting to leverage the power of social networking to interact and collaborate with their customers and employees.
So how can Supplier Relationship Management leverage this new way of communicating and sharing information?
When searching for “Social Networking” in relation with “SRM” I only found one article on Supply Chain Management Review which really tackles the topic. Here is a quote which I think summarizes the benefits quite well:
Consider several of the main advantages MySpace and similar technologies bring: communication (instant, structured, unstructured, and syndicated), globalization, and on-demand collaboration. These technologies provide a powerful means for exchanging information between and within enterprises. And, they have the added benefits of being inexpensive, innovative, and fast. Embracing some of these technologies in the same way teenagers have welcomed social software like MySpace and Facebook, could go a long way in overcoming some longstanding supply management challenges. From Joe Raudabaugh – full article http://www.scmr.com/article/CA6492754.html
If you have an account on Facebook (or on any other big social network) you will realize how easy it is to get and to stay in touch with someone. By linking up with a person (which usually takes not more than a mouse click) you will instantly gain access to a great amount of information about this person and to information about other people connected to this person. The network enables you to share files with a group of people, run discussions and collaborate globally. Now just imagine doing this with your suppliers – sounds good to me! I will definitely dig deeper!
