Identifying tier one key suppliers

In today's global marketplace, businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on suppliers for the provision of key processes, activities, products and services in support of their strategic business goals. The result is that now, more than ever, the failure of a key supplier has potential to damage reputation, productivity, compliance and financial performance seriously. Yet despite this, there is no recognised standard or guidance for identifying a tier one key supplier base and, up to now, there has been little or no research on how to do so effectively. This paper outlines the key findings of a BCI-sponsored research project to investigate good practice in identifying tier one key suppliers, and suggests a scalable framework process model and risk matrix tool to help businesses effectively identify their tier one key supplier base.