The Importance of Technology in Supplier Management in 2022

Implementing technologies into your supplier management practices can have a plethora of benefits for those who work with suppliers on a regular basis, and help you achieve some of your performance goals for 2022.

So why not have the introduction of efficient supplier management software as one of your new targets?

ARCUS^® Supplier Management Software supports a range of supplier management activities: from initial tenders and auctions through to supplier information, supplier contract, supplier performance management, product information management, and initial product concept and development. ARCUS^® can help you to:

Achieve Sustainability Goals

Sustainability is a topic and driver that is only increasing in importance and significance, and actions that need to be taken to ensure companies are meeting sustainability targets are only becoming more urgent. One key issue that prevents companies from achieving their sustainability goals is a lack of visibility between the buying company and their suppliers regarding their environmental practices and carbon footprint, which indirectly contributes to the buying company’s overall impact.

By collecting sustainability information about your suppliers, you can keep better track of your overall carbon footprint by including emissions you are indirectly responsible for. This can also allow you to work with suppliers who have strong sustainability goals that align with your own values.

ARCUS^® Supplier Information Management (SIM) can help companies achieve their sustainability targets moving forward by increasing transparency between the supplier and the company during the supplier information on-boarding period.

Using questionnaires, the supplier can be required to give key information regarding the sustainable practices of their company, allowing the organisation to assess the overall carbon footprint of their supply chain, by increasing visibility between the supplier and company regarding their own environmental impact.

Save time by increasing efficiency

Implementing technology into your current practices will allow you to streamline your processes, and ultimately save time, by reducing the risks and complexities associated with supplier management. According to research conducted on the behalf of Trade Interchange by 3GEM, those working in supply chain management spend 14 hours a week on average chasing suppliers for information, which is unnecessary time wasted that could be spent on more complex tasks.

ARCUS^® SIM allows all supplier information to be gathered and stored in a cloud-based system, with automated reminders that automatically chase suppliers for incomplete or out-of-date information. Key documents are scanned by artificial intelligence at the point of upload, delivering confidence in the supply chain.

Remote Working

With a world still in the throes of a pandemic, remote working is still an extremely relevant issue and a practice that most workers are still adopting. The pandemic demonstrated that remote working could provide the opportunity for more flexible working and can allow for a healthy work/life balance by taking the commute out of the equation.

According to Slack, research indicates that hybrid remote/office working will be the preferred option for workforces moving forward, therefore, processes must be adapted for workplaces that are offering this model.

ARCUS^® SIM operates from a fully cloud-based system, which can be accessed from anywhere, at any time, easing processes for those who are working remotely. Cloud-based working is an invaluable asset since it allows workers to access important documents from anywhere in the world.

Reduce Risk to Brand Reputation

By ensuring that you have organised and efficient processes in place, companies can reduce the risk to brand reputation that can come from mistakes when collecting information from suppliers. Having technology that digitises and streamlines the initial collection of supplier information can reduce the risk of these mistakes occurring early in the supply chain, and causing major issues down the line, such as product recalls.

ARCUS^® SIM can reduce the risk surrounding rekeying errors by having the supplier enter their information directly into the system using the custom questionnaires, which places the responsibility onto the supplier to place the correct information into the system.