Three Key Benefits of Supply Chain Collaboration

Firstly, there’s only so much that can be achieved alone.

In a single workplace,  collaboration is key. Often, achieving overall company targets involves the active participation of departments across the organisation to apply the range of expertise and responsibilities needed to achieve the overarching goal. Therefore, the same principle can be applied to company supply chains. Supply chain collaboration is key. 

There are several benefits to be found if multiple organisations work together to improve supply chain operations. There’s the potential to build on existing relationships, working with your suppliers to help them achieve targets, aligning them with your own, thus avoiding the rigmarole of trying to replace your suppliers, and build new relationships from scratch.

Benefits of Supply Chain Collaboration include:  

More Active Progression Towards Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Targets

It goes without saying that achieving a sustainable earth will be a collaborative endeavour. It will involve collective efforts from countries at the top-level and individuals at the bottom. In between this are businesses, who’s supply chain operations contribute to a significant proportion of yearly emissions.

Therefore, it stands to reason that organisations will be able to better facilitate supply chain sustainability if there is a level of collaboration, such as sharing progress towards targets to ensure your suppliers are on the same sustainability trajectory as you, or more active shared initiatives to improve supply chain sustainability. It could improve your supplier relationships, creating more enthused and proactive working relationships with your suppliers.

Transparency Can Help Identify Areas for Improvement

Transparency across your organisation is also worth considering here. Having a single information point, eliminating siloed views of supplier activity, can improve supplier management within your business, and improved processes can provide you with the means to better work with your suppliers.

Reduce Risk in the Supply Chain

Expanding further on the previous point, enhanced collaborative efforts can allow you to be better informed of your supplier activity. By better knowing your suppliers and having that increased level of visibility and transparency, you can identify the level of risk that exists within the supply chain.  

The benefits are there, so a remaining question still stands.  Why not have shared supply chain initiatives? If organisations have a shared vision that can only be achieved through set supply chain benchmarks, then why not collaborate? The answer is simple. It isn’t easy – but this doesn’t have to prevent supply chain collaboration from occurring.  

ARCUS^® Supplier Management Software can help you achieve the level of visibility and data integrity with your suppliers necessary to facilitate effective collaboration.

ARCUS^® offers solutions which cover the source to contract process, alongside product information management and supplier data visualisation.

By adopting ARCUS^® across source to contract, you can increase transparency with your suppliers through effective data collection and visualisation capabilities. You can also ensure that all stakeholders are operating from one version of the truth.

To learn more about how ARCUS^® Supplier Management Software can help you, contact us today.