ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some insight into ways of preventing such costly failures and maximising the value of strategic relationship management (SRM) to both the service buyer and the service provider. It discusses four key drivers for SRM: overall sourcing strategy, spend mix, operating model, and spend leverage. The first driver of SRM must be for the buyer to position it as a fundamental component of an overall sourcing strategy. Having agreed the sourcing strategy, the second driver of SRM will be mix of spend, that is, the services on which the buyer decides to spend its outsourcing budget. The third driver for SRM is the customer's operating model. The fourth driver of SRM, probably the one that is considered most often, is spending consolidation or spends leverage. To optimise spend leverage, buyers need to consider those suppliers whose strategies and business processes are most closely aligned with the buyer's chosen outsourcing categories and operating model.
