SRM is in for the same ride that CRM took 10 years ago.

Management systems are like a pair of jeans.

This statement may seem bizarre, but just bear with me here…

You have quite a few pairs and usually try on multiple different pairs before you choose the ones you want to buy. When you finally get comfortable with one pair of jeans, they typically change; sometimes it’s a good thing, sometimes it’s bad. After a while you develop a pattern- a dependency- and you rely on wearing one pair a whole lot more than the other ones. It’s ok, but you also know that variation- and a range of different pairs- is a nice thing to have in your wardrobe. And then, one day, you realize there’s a hole in the knee of your favorite pair. You can patch ’em up or go buy the brand new version of those same jeans. One way or the other, you have to make a change, evolve beyond that favorite pair, and adapt to a whole new pair.

Does that analogy sound like a management system your business has implemented over the years?

In today’s business world, there are a plethora of management information systems (MIS) at the disposal of businesses and consumers alike. One of the most widely recognized B2B management systems is CRM, (customer relationship management) and it is typically implemented into organizations in the form of software/cloud implementation

“91% of businesses with over 11 employees now use CRM” (Taylor 2017).

CRM has had a brief yet furiously exponential development as a leading business management system, and has- subsequently- added incalculable value to the sales, marketing and customer retention activities for millions of companies.

The CEO of Kodiak Rating, Malin Schmidt is a firm believer that SRM (supplier relationship management) exists in a similar- calm before the storm — kind of positioning that CRM existed in just 10 years ago. She often says,

“SRM as a domain is in for the same ride that CRM took”

After a bit of research, I confirmed that she has a damn-good point, and that SRM could very well explode in the coming years.

As the saying goes, ‘history repeats itself’. If this is true, supplier relationship management could soon be your new favorite pair of jeans.

CRM in the 1980’s

There is much discussion about where CRM truly began, and I will try to present the facts as close to the ‘truth’ as I possibly can.

CRM was in it’s early stages- already in 1980’s, but the realization of it’s future wasn’t even in the corner of the picture frame. In fact, CRM wasn’t even the name.

It all started with a little something called contact management systems also known as CMS.

CMS was a digital rolodex of sorts. A company, named ACT!, developed a solution that introduced the business world to the efficiency of digitally storing and organizing customer contact information. Throughout the decade several other actors developed similar platforms (CRMSwitch).

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