Your Guide to Writing a Supply Management Plan

Though it may seem like a daunting task initially, writing a solid supply management plan for your organisation will really set you up for success.

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This is the second part in a series. Read the first on ‘Writing a Brief for the Procurement of Goods and Services’ here.

Supply management is one of the key components of a successful business regardless of its niche or service portfolio. Once you find a suitable supplier or B2B partner with the items or services you need to remain operational at peak capacity, you will want to ensure that a supply management plan is in effect.

However, drafting such a document takes effort and panache for small details due to legalities and mutual obligations that will require careful listing and formatting. According to Finances Online, 57 per cent of companies believe that adequate supply management gives them a competitive edge that enables further business development. 62 per cent report limited visibility in terms of being informed about their supply chain status at any given moment.

This creates an incentive for companies to create a supply management plan which can easily be retrofitted for different applications and allow them to stay informed about their inventory at all times. Let’s take a look at how you can benefit from supply management plan writing and the steps necessary for its successful drafting and approval by all parties included.

Basics and Benefits of Supply Management Plans

It’s worth noting what supply management planning is all about before we jump into writing guidelines and plan outlining. Supply Management Planning is a forward-thinking process that involves coordination aimed at optimising the delivery of goods or services from a supplier to a customer.

Its main focus is to balance the supply and demand through inventory planning, production scheduling, and delivery organisation. Writing a supply management plan for your business’ needs will allow you to streamline product delivery and quicken the general turnaround time of your contracts due to the standardisation of written documentation.

Relying on writing tools such as Grammarly (a dedicated proofreading tool), Studicus (a professional outsourcing platform), Evernote (a cloud-based text editing service), as well as Grab My Essay (a document writing platform) will help you get the documents shipped to clients and contractors with impeccable speed and quality. While these documents are not special and show up quite frequently in companies that rely on shipping or ordering of goods and services, their standardisation will bring about several benefits to your business, including the following:

• Better stakeholder cooperation and networking
• Improved supply management efficiency
• Lowered risk of delays and bottlenecks
• Increased profit margin and ROI

Supply Management Plan Writing Guidelines

Supply Management Plan Overview

The first thing worth noting is that a supply management plan isn’t bound by length or complexity – it all depends on your contract’s requirements. Supply management plans are typically assigned for a fixed duration of time, be it several weeks or years in advance, thus allowing two parties to manage the supply line between them. In that regard, the first page of your plan should focus on an introductory segment that will outline the supply management document in its entirety.

Elements such as the name of your recipient (company name, representative name, address, etc.) as well as products or services outline (product category, number of items, estimated value, etc.) should find their way into the plan overview. This will allow the reader to quickly scan the document and become acquainted with your requirements without going through several pages of the supply management plan.

Supply Procurement Policies Outline

Every organisation, be it focused on physical goods or cloud-based services, features certain procurement policies. It is pivotal for your business’ reputation and longevity of your contracts to outline any special requests or policies you have in advance for the sake of transparency.

In this segment, it’s good to include information pertaining to your storage capacities, safety regulations and procurement facilities you have access to. This will ensure that your recipient is aware of the environment in which their goods will be stored and to better prepare their shipments in case of special climate or infrastructure requirements on your part.

Detail the Quality Assurance Systems

No matter how good your relation with a certain supplier may be, you should still rely on objective QA systems when it comes to supply risk management. The plan you write and send out as a procurement document should include a breakdown of your QA systems, as well as any regulations it covers based on health and safety hazard standards.

This is especially important when shipping medical equipment, chemical compounds and other hazardous materials that can cause severe human danger if mismanaged or stored inadequately. Most importantly, outline your specific guidelines in case of procurement contamination or product failure on the shipment’s arrival into your facilities to cover all grounds.

List International/State Laws

Chances are that you will sometimes work with international suppliers and companies that don’t share your governmental or legal jurisdiction. When that happens, you should ensure that international and state laws pertaining to your industry are listed on the supply management plan with follow up links or documents.

If you work with suppliers which don’t speak your language, you can refer to platforms such as Is Accurate, which is a translation review website, in order to ensure that your writing is understandable due to its importance. It’s also good practice to requisition legal documents and shipping approvals from the supplier for your own border and customs checks and their timely processing.

Outline your Supply Selection

You should follow up on your initial product or service procurement outline from the opening segment of the supply management plan with a detailed breakdown of your requisition. One of the easiest ways to do so is to create a simple table with clearly outlined product categories, product names, procurement numbers, as well as any special requests you may have, such as limited-time-only procurements.

This will allow your supplier to process the order quickly and to clearly understand which items you will require for the duration of your contract. Make sure to include a quick contact information line in this section to allow for follow-ups in case of unclear requirements or a lack of products on your supplier’s side.

Detail the Distribution Timeline

Lastly, supply management plans should come with a detailed breakdown of the distribution timeline pertaining to the previously outlined order. Do you require the items to be shipped to numerous different retail fronts across the country – if so, in what order and quantity? Will you handle a part or the entirety of the shipping procedure and only require the supplier to prepare your items for pickup?

Do you require any safety or manpower assistance with handling the supply going forward or do you have sufficient capacities to do both? These items should be added to the distribution section alongside a rudimentary contract timeline that will allow the supplier to quickly scan through their obligations toward your business.

Not as Daunting as it Seems

Writing a supply management plan for your company may seem like a daunting task at first. However, it is a pivotal step toward creating a reliable and professional supply management network.

Find ways to implement the above-discussed supply management plan guidelines in your own business practice and contractual obligations. Their inclusion in your supply documentation will help your business’ ongoing growth and stability on the market going forward.