Do you have strong cooperative relationships with your suppliers and partners?

Riverford Organic Farmers deliver seasonal recipe boxes to the door. As a company, Riverford demonstrate the importance of nurturing supplier relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Founder Guy Singh-Watson prides himself on building long-term partnerships with his suppliers. In an industry where harvests are weather dependent, and therefore volatile, having shared trust between buyer and seller is vital for productive business.

Riverford establish and sustain frequent communication with their suppliers, so both parties can understand their partner’s goals and challenges. They hold a biannual suppliers conference which presents the opportunity for discussion and celebration of their work together.

The business has gone from strength to strength illustrating the vitality of caring cooperation with partners and suppliers. Mr Singh-Watson sees this as ‘a common endeavour towards a collective future.’

Do you understand your partners’ aims and concerns? Do they understand yours? What could you do to nurture long-lasting, mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships?