Written by: Amy Cornforth

Posted on: 11/12/20

Three Common Issues with Supplier Information Management, and how ARCUS® can resolve them.

Managing supplier information can be difficult, but luckily, our ARCUS® supplier management software can help digitise your processes.

Managing your supplier information can be tricky. Not only does it involve overseeing various processes, but it also involves liaising across different departments, endlessly waiting for responses from suppliers and manoeuvring inordinate amounts of data.

Without a centralised system, managing your supplier information can be hard work, so it is unsurprising to hear there are several issues that frequently befall people who work in this area.

Though the process may be complicated, and the issues seem inevitable, there are measures that can be taken to combat the following issues commonly facing those in procurement.

Lost Time

How many people have spent precious hours chasing up missing details? How much time have you lost trying to sift through folders and 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 process.

How to fix it:

Our ARCUS® software is geared towards efficiency. 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 configurable questionnaire providing you with all the information you need before sending it, rather than sending you data in separate instances.

 

Lack of Transparency

When working in a large team, it is not unheard of for two different members of the team to 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 supply base management process.

How to fix it:

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 that multiple members of the supply chain can access, rather than a new version for every time the document has been updated.

Our ARCUS® software operates in a centralised location and uses cloud-based technology to fully digitise your processes, ensuring that important information can be accessed at any time, in any location.

 

Risk

Procurement involves a great deal of collaboration, so there is always an element of risk involved, which can be accentuated by inefficient processing. Ensuring that all your supplier information is accurate and up to date during the procurement process is paramount, or the company could risk the whole process falling apart at a later stage in the supply chain.

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. Then there is the additional stress associated with continuously ensuring all your documents are ready for audits.

How to fix it:

Our ARCUS® SIM software significantly reduces the element of risk in your supply chain management by ensuring 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 99.5% 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 download our ARCUS® SIM case study here, and contact us at Trade Interchange today.

ARCUS® Supply Video

Learn more about the ARCUS® Supply family by watching the video below

Watch video

SIM Case Study

Learn how Whitbread manage their supplier information by reading the case study below.

Read more

SIM Factsheet

To learn more about ARCUS® SIM, read the factsheet below.

Read more