Creative Skill Set 3.4 – Supplier Mentoring

Create value by improving supplier productivity and attitude

Creative service suppliers are no less important in the supply chain than others, and their impact on the organisation can be significant. Sadly, they are frequently overlooked by those outside the creative arena who fail to understand the potential benefits of the working relationship.

Recognition of the involvement of this group in the supply chain has several advantages for an organisation, including security of supply, continuity of service and ownership of collateral materials produced.

Town & Town provide the skills needed for managing greater creative supplier involvement and so enable organisations to reap the benefits of a better disposed and motivated supply stream.

Here’s a situation you may find familiar…Supplier Mentoring

Creative Skill Set 3.3 – Supplier Assessment

Evaluating suppliers’ current capabilities to meet changing demands

Good supplier relationships are built and strengthened over many years, and an active supplier will endeavour to adapt to their clients’ needs through investment in new technologies and the learning of new skills.

In order to make sure the relationship is as beneficial to the organisation as it should be, periodic reviews of creative service suppliers should be undertaken to take advantage of new practices and more efficient processes in the production of creative materials.

As an independent arbiter, Town & Town are uniquely placed to assist organisations in this process, leading to improved relationships and an efficient, cost-effective supply chain.

Here’s a situation you may find familiar…Supplier Assessment

Creative Skill Set 3.2 – Motivating Creatives

Matching appropriate skills and attitudes to the task

Clients can be forgiven for failing to differentiate between creative tasks. After all, these can range from the highly original to the mundane and repetitive, all under the guise of creativity.

‘Creative types’ often have high energy levels and a disproportionate influence within a team, and if this energy is not directed to an appropriate task they can prove disruptive. While most team members can keep themselves busy, underutilised ‘creative types’ can be a distraction and can take up a disproportionate amount of management time.

At Town & Town we match skills and attitudes to the appropriate tasks within creative services, leading to a more effective and focused creative team that produce better and more consistent results.

Here’s a situation you may find familiar…Culture Management

Creative Skill Set 3.1 – Project Commissioning

Matching the Supplier’s Capabilities to The Project

When creative services, either internal or external, are not functioning as well as expected, it is often due to a mismatch between their capabilities and the organisation’s requirements. Often the principal creative service provider does a reasonably good job in response to the majority of its client’s requests, but when the requirement of more peripheral users is not being met, the relationship can begin to break down.

In turn, this can degenerate into a wholly unsatisfactory situation where suppliers are dismissed without good cause before suitable replacements can be found. This can be avoided by acknowledging the differing requirements of the various departments within the organisation and finding suppliers to meet those needs, either by improving the relationship with the current suppliers or by appointing alternative suppliers.

At Town & Town, we provide specifications for the primary demand for creative services as well as those of the more outlying departments to guarantee optimum service levels to all stakeholders.

Here’s a situation you may find familiar…Project Commissioning