A hospital located in a remote area of the country experiences difficulties in attracting and...

CIPS defines strategic suppliers as those that are critical to organisational performance, continuity of service, and risk management. In this scenario, the staffing agency directly impacts:

Patient safety

Operational continuity

Service delivery

For strategic suppliers, CIPS recommends adopting a partnership sourcing relationship, characterised by:

Long-term collaboration

High levels of trust and communication

Joint problem-solving and planning

Shared responsibility for performance outcomes

Transactional, tactical, or competitive sourcing approaches focus on short-term cost and flexibility and are not appropriate where service failure could have severe consequences.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 3: Understand approaches to managing supplier relationships

Topic: Strategic suppliers and partnership sourcing

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Supplier segmentation and relationship strategies