For our clients at SE10, we typically focus on relations with the media, customers, employees, and dealers but a recent client milestone celebration highlighted how treating suppliers as true partners can be one of the most authentic and resilient brand strategies there is.
Last month, I found myself in a familiar place for an exciting reason. I was at FB Chain’s facility in Letchworth to see the team receive the King’s Award for Enterprise and celebrate their 40th anniversary.
It’s a company I know well. I worked there briefly after university, helping to redesign the website, set up the social media accounts, and write stories to send to the trade media and local press — projects that made me realise I wanted to build a career in communications. Over the years, I’ve stayed in touch, continuing to support the team every now and then with PR and marketing tasks as an SE10 client.
As the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire presented the award on behalf of the King, I looked around the room. It was filled not just with proud employees, but with a community of partners — the people who handle FB Chain’s logistics, packaging, HR, and more. It was a celebration of collaboration.
During his speech, Managing Director Peter Church — a friend and mentor to me over the years — said something that struck a chord. The company’s success, he explained, comes down to one simple idea: “partner with good people and let them get on with what they do best for a long time”.
And when Peter kindly mentioned my small contribution to FB Chain’s marketing journey, I didn’t just feel proud and valued, I felt part of that wider network. Moreover, that moment highlighted how the most trusted and resilient businesses build genuine partnerships, not just transactions, which is the core of B2B public relations.
Why suppliers don’t always make the stakeholder map
In stakeholder mapping, journalists, customers, employees and talent, dealers, industry bodies, and governments are often there but suppliers aren’t always included. There’s often a transactional focus that creates a disconnect between procurement’s cost-cutting mandate and communications’ goal of building long-term trust. Even when goodwill exists, it’s usually informal, tied to individual relationships. When one of those people moves on, the trust, knowledge, and understanding built over years can disappear overnight.
A truly resilient business can’t rely only on personal ties, however. It needs organisational-level partnerships — relationships that are embedded in company culture, not just in people. That means moving the supplier relationship off the spreadsheet and into the heart of strategic thinking.
Why supplier relations should be discussed at the top table
Strengthening supplier partnerships isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s a smart business move that supports three of the biggest priorities on any C-suite agenda: innovation, environmental impact, and resilience.
1. Suppliers can co-create your competitive edge
A transactional relationship gets you exactly what’s in the contract. A true partnership gets you something far more valuable — a supplier who thinks with you and for you.
That’s when ideas start to flow: a more sustainable material, a tweak to a process that saves time or waste, a smarter way to deliver a product. Suppliers see your business from a different angle — often spotting opportunities that you can’t from the inside. But you only unlock that kind of contribution when trust runs both ways.
In some situations, this deep collaboration requires both parties to agree on clear intellectual property (IP) frameworks, demonstrating an organisational commitment to partnership that goes beyond the handshake.
2. Suppliers hold the key to reducing Scope 3 emissions
Many companies have already reduced much of their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions — those that come directly from their own operations and from the energy they purchase to power them. Today, the majority of emissions often lie further up or down the chain, in what’s known as Scope 3 — the indirect emissions that come from suppliers, logistics partners, and product use.
That means real decarbonisation is impossible without collaboration. You can’t demand innovation or transparency from partners who feel like commodities. Building a low-carbon future requires a foundation of mutual respect, openness, and shared goals. Treating suppliers as partners isn’t just good ethics; it’s good ESG strategy.
3. How you treat your suppliers impacts your reputation and resilience
Finally, how a company treats its suppliers says more about its true culture than almost anything else.
Suppliers talk. They share experiences at trade shows, within networks, and across companies – even to customers – as people move jobs. A reputation for fairness and collaboration travels fast — as does a reputation for the opposite. And in an industry where relationships matter, that reputation can be a powerful magnet for both new suppliers, customers, and talent.
Furthermore, in a climate of geopolitical risk and supply chain volatility or disruption, true trust translates into operational resilience as a trusted partner is more likely to prioritise your order or find creative solutions to reroute logistics during a global crisis.
How to move from transactions to partnerships
So how can companies start to shift the dynamic? It begins by recognising suppliers as a real audience — one that deserves communication, recognition, and inclusion.
• Make it formal – Go beyond procurement emails. A simple supplier newsletter, an annual town hall invitation, or a strategic briefing that shares your vision for the year ahead can make a big difference.
• Share the spotlight – When you win an award or reach a milestone, acknowledge the partners who helped make it happen. Celebrate together — not just through a ‘supplier day’, but as part of the same story.
• Show partnership in practice – Case studies can be powerful, but they don’t need to give away competitive secrets. When external visibility isn’t appropriate, internal recognition — such as a ‘Partner of the Year’ award — can send the same message: we value you.
Ways to measure supplier relations
Another reason the topic of supplier relations might get overlooked is that it feels hard to measure but there are some ways to track progress.
Leading indicators — relationship health:
• Supplier Net Promoter Score (S-NPS): Ask suppliers once a year ‘How likely are you to recommend working with us?’
• Interviews: Speak to a few key partners to hear directly what’s working and what could improve.
Lagging indicators — business outcomes:
• Innovation input: Track how many proactive, value-adding ideas come from your supply chain.
• Retention rate: Measure how long your key suppliers stay with you — stability signals trust.
Together, these metrics support a business case based on three business impacts every leader understands: reduced risk, increased innovation, and a stronger brand reputation.
Building an ecosystem of business partners
Looking back on that morning in Letchworth celebrating with FB Chain, I was reminded that the relationships that can sometimes be treated as purely transactional can, in fact, be transformational.
A brand isn’t just what it sells — it’s the ecosystem it builds. And within that ecosystem, some of your most powerful partners might already be right beside you. The question is: are you investing in them?
Every great brand is built on trust. Let’s explore how you can strengthen it across your supply chain. Get in touch with the SE10 team.
Hannah Kitchener
Associate Director
About the author
Hannah is an associate director in the UK, leading strategic campaigns for industrial clients across the EMEA region. A professionally qualified journalist (NCTJ), she combines specialist sectoral knowledge in construction, energy, and materials handling with a strong network of trade media contacts to secure valuable coverage. Her expertise in inter-cultural communication, honed by degrees in modern languages and translation, is key to executing campaigns that succeed across diverse European markets.
