Working closely with suppliers has become vital to achieve or maintain a high level of performance of its processes Purchases and supply chain. In a report exploiting the results of a study on "the agility of purchasing", carried out with Oxford Economics, Sap details its vision of the problem and lists the five essential conditions for successful collaboration.
1 – Choose a solution that offers a complete collaboration process. Setting up collaborative purchasing and supply chain processes goes far beyond simply ordering product references in a Catalog, and then sending a electronic invoice, as proposed by most solutions. Without a comprehensive set of mechanisms specifically designed to collaborate digitally and automatically, and incorporating the complexity of the interactions of an extended and multi-level supply chain, a company is left with a significant number of manual procedures or partially digitized processes, leading to errors and less efficient collaboration.
2 – Invest in solutions that are highly integrated with back-end systems. The integration of the purchasing and supply chain solution with the other application components of the company is also essential. The solution must be able to integrate with several systems: PLM (Product lifecycle management), PIM (Product information management), SCP (Supply chain planning), ERP, etc. This tight integration offers important advantages, such as faster sourcing cycles, simplified cost analysis, better compliance with previously negotiated contractual conditions and, more generally, the elimination of manual entries and associated errors.
3 – Consult with industry experts and evaluate specialized solutions. Each sector may have to deploy specific supply chain processes for its direct purchases. These processes vary depending on industry dynamics such as regulatory requirements, type of production and level of outsourcing. To implement best practices and functionalities adapted to these specificities, companies should rely on industry specialists with in-depth knowledge of industry particularities and change management methods.
4 – Gain better visibility thanks to the strength of the network. To quickly identify and resolve supply disruption risks, contractors can rely on the power and intelligence of a digital network. The data relating to transactions and events provided by a digital platform, complemented by those of external partner systems, can help decision-makers to prevent the risk of stock-outs related to production or supplier delivery hazards and to set up alternative solutions, to ensure that the required documents such as delivery notices are sent before invoices are issued, and measure supplier performance using integratedData analysis. Providers can adapt their own approach to offer higher levels of service.
5 – Choose a world-class partner by size, scope and experience. Most large industrial groups manage operations, factories and sites around the world. Their networks of commercial and logistics partners are therefore on this scale as well. For these multinationals, setting up a digital collaboration with their suppliers and logistics partners therefore requires having a global digital platform integrating the widest coverage of regulations, accounting rules and local currencies, as well as support teams that master most of the languages spoken by the partners. They must also rely on a global network of the publisher's partners, who can bring their expertise to deploy and operate the platform to maximize its benefits. Finally, theData hosting must be able to take place in various locations around the world to meet local regulatory requirements and secure data exchanges.