Those who work in procurement and supply chain departments aren’t strangers to lost time and inefficiencies.
Not only do these roles involve overseeing various processes, but they also involve liaising with different departments, endlessly waiting for responses from suppliers and regularly dealing with massive quantities of data.
Without a centralised system, managing supplier information can be hard work, so it is unsurprising to hear there are several problems that frequently befall people who work in procurement and supply chain positions.
Though processes can be so complicated that these issues seem inevitable, this does not have to be the case. There are several measures that can be taken.
Procurement and Supply Chain professionals may frequently encounter:
1. Lost Time
How many people have spent precious hours chasing up missing details? How much time have you lost trying to sift through endless folders of information until you finally find what you need?
Time spent on tasks such as these adds up at an alarming rate. Before you know it, you have lost hours of time simply because there is a lack of efficiency in the procurement and supply chain process.
The Solution:
Our ARCUS® software is designed to streamline your supplier management. Operating from a cloud-based location, information is stored in an intuitive and organised system, so it is simple to find. In addition, processes that take up hours of your time are fully automated, freeing you to focus on other matters.
For example, in our ARCUS® Supplier Information Management (SIM) software, suppliers are required to fill a full questionnaire providing you with all the information you need before sending it, rather than sending you data in separate instances.
2. Lack of Transparency
When working in a large team, it is not unheard of for two different members of the team end up working from two different versions of the document. Then there are two conflicting sets of information, which results in an ongoing confusion, and more lost time. Worse, it can cause issues later in the procurement and supply chain process. For example, an error in ingredient data earlier on, could cause a product recall later.
The Solution:
The key to this issue is full transparency and visibility.
Operating from a cloud-based system ensures that there is only one accurate, up-to-date version of each document. This means multiple stakeholders can access the same document, and there’s no room for confusion. Additionally, centralising all your supply base information from one viewable point can make it simpler to identify problems.
ARCUS® uses cloud-based technology to fully digitise and centralise your supplier data. It ensures that important information can be accessed at any time, from any location.
ARCUS® Analytics, our data visualisation module, provides a 360-degree oversight of your supply base through comprehensive vendor dashboards.
3. Procurement and Supply Chain Risk
These roles involve a great deal of collaboration, so there is always an element of risk involved. However, this can be accentuated by inefficiency.
Ensuring that all your supplier information is accurate and up to date during the procurement process is paramount.
Without a supplier information management system, there is a risk of errors which come from having to re-key information, or simply missing information from suppliers. Furthermore, there is the additional stress associated with constantly checking that you are audit ready.
The Solution:
Our ARCUS® SIM software significantly reduces the element of risk in procurement and supply chain by helping ensure all your supplier data is accurate.
Firstly, suppliers are instructed to input information directly into the system, reducing the risk, and saving time associated with having to re-enter information. The necessary documentation is uploaded, then scanned and verified by artificial intelligence with 99% accuracy, eliminating human error. On top of that, the modules are fully auditable.
If these issues are familiar to you, and you are searching for confidence in your supplier information management, then contact us at Trade Interchange today.