Managing Supplier Complexity – 10 Key Considerations

CMOs and Procurement leaders today face unprecedented complexity in managing supplier ecosystems. With agencies, adtech, martech, data partners, and research providers multiplying, the challenge is no longer just selection—it’s integration, enablement, and long-term value creation.

This guide offers 10 principles to help leaders cut through supplier complexity, rethink operating models, and build resilient, future-ready partnerships that drive clarity, efficiency, and growth.

Key Takeaways

• Simplify to strengthen: Shift from supplier selection to supplier enablement, streamlining rosters to focus on effectiveness and outcomes.
• Rethink integration strategies: Consider when and how to in-house, and design operating models that promote collaboration across the ecosystem.
• Leverage technology and AI: Deploy tools thoughtfully to enhance decision-making, transparency, and efficiency in supplier management.

Managing supplier complexity has become a top priority as marketing ecosystems expand and fragment. CMOs and Procurement leaders must not only evaluate more partners than ever, but also ensure those relationships deliver coherence, agility, and measurable business impact. Without the right frameworks, organisations risk duplication, inefficiency, and missed opportunities for innovation.

The path forward starts with simplification and clarity—understanding where supplier rosters can be streamlined and how operating models can evolve. From there, success depends on enabling suppliers with the right conditions to deliver, embedding integration across teams and functions, and using technology to support governance, visibility, and agility. Together, these steps turn complexity into an opportunity for stronger, more aligned partnerships.

Report Highlights

Common blockers to effective supplier management

• Overextended rosters create duplication and limit the ability to optimise spend.
• Inconsistent in-housing and integration strategies lead to inefficiency and misaligned incentives.
• Underuse or misuse of technology and AI reduces visibility and decision-making power.

A practical roadmap to managing supplier complexity

1. Understand your supplier landscape – Audit the breadth, duplication, and alignment of your current supplier base.
2. Develop streamlined operating models – Move from fragmented rosters to integrated ecosystems.
3. Implement enablement frameworks – Shift the focus from selection to supplier performance, value, and outcomes.
4. Leverage technology and AI – Apply tools to monitor efficiency, enhance transparency, and future-proof supplier relationships.