Supplier Management Software
An efficient supplier management software will let you remotely monitor supplier compliance and safeguard your brand reputation. With intricate supply chains, a standard feature of the globalized economy, a supplier/vendor management solution will assist you in overseeing global supply chain compliance.
Gainfront’s Supplier Management software will help you maintain all supplier quality data and documentation in one place. It automatically tracks and saves audit results and other supplier data. A supplier management system streamlines all the suppliers’ qualifications and supplier corrective action request (SCAR) processes.
How does supplier management software help enterprises?
-> Protects your brand reputation
Ensures product errors never reach your customers
-> Holds the right people accountable
Pinpoints when and where obstacles arise.
-> Provides you a list of credible suppliers
Lets you do business with only credible and safest suppliers.
-> Better quality standards
Get more control over the processes and consistency in every step.
But how will you quantify your suppliers’ contributions and what do you do to actively manage that relationship? Knowing that your suppliers are not performing up to the mark is one thing and helping them to get back on track is a whole different scenario. This is where Supplier Relationship Management software comes into the picture. Whenever things go south or you are looking to improve your suppliers’ performance, you will need an effective mechanism in place to handle the entire process.
Supplier/Vendor Management
Primarily, supplier/vendor management refers to all of the processes and activities which are related to the entire lifecycle of a supplier or vendor for an enterprise.
Now, this includes, but not limited to, identifying, selecting, and managing relevant suppliers combined with an effective evaluation of their performance to make sure they can provide maximum value for the enterprise’s third-part needs and requirements.
Do organizations need supplier management?
There are two primary reasons why organizations deploy supplier management:
-> Vendor vetting: To ensure the suppliers/vendors are performing as per the organization’s requirements and terms.
-> Improve the process: To identify the areas of improvement while maintaining and building better relationships with suppliers throughout the lifecycle.
Now, these two factors play a crucial role in why organizations need supplier management — to make sure the organization is getting the most value from the suppliers for its requirements based on the resources invested in the suppliers by the organization. In order to derive the maximum value from a supplier, it is imperative to track and measure their performance. With frequent feedback, proper supplier vetting, and constant communication, an enterprise can build a reliable and trustworthy relationship with the suppliers, which will assist in identifying areas of improvement with effective and efficient solutions.
Supplier/Vendor Onboarding
The vendor/supplier onboarding is an essential element of supplier management. It basically consists of crucial tasks such as evaluation of vendors, approval/rejection status, providing them with the terms and conditions that comprise the quality standards of the goods and services the enterprise expects from them, and the compulsory mandates, including government and enterprise’s internal for a better alignment with the overall working environment and structure of the enterprise.
How to streamline vendor onboarding?
Having a vendor onboarding checklist is a fantastic way to streamline the onboarding process for your vendors. A well-structured vendor onboarding assists enterprises in enhancing their competitiveness as it will lead to a faster vendor evaluation who registered themselves on the vendor platform and provide their goods and services to enterprises.
Gainfront’s Vendor Onboarding Checklist
Pre Qualification & Risk Assessment
Vendor name and contact information
Vendor licenses and other relevant documents
Service record
Credit history evaluation
Compliance assessment (industry, legal, government)
Vendor related risk assessment was done or not
Scrutiny & Validation of the Vendor Data
Ensure every piece of information and document submitted by vendors are correct in terms of accuracy, authenticity, and completeness
Vendor Qualification and Onboarding
Conveying essential information to the vendor regarding costs, terms and conditions, workflows, and delivery of goods and services
Concluding written contract
Account set up
Vendor training
Performance Evaluation and Relationship Development
Spend data analytics
Complaint records
Adherence to quality standards
Turnaround time for services
Compliance tracking
Overall performance review and sharing review information with the vendor
Contract Completion and Renewal Based on Vendor’s Performance
Concluding the existing contract
Contract renewal to be done or not (Depending on vendor performance)
Contract review (If vendor contract is renewed)
Vendor deboarding (If the contract is not renewed)
Implementing changes in the process
Supplier Performance Management and Evaluation
Measuring and evaluating vendor/supplier performance is extremely important to reduce costs, increase process efficiency and business performance. Supplier evaluation software assists in preventing product issues and post-payment defects and prompt developments in the supply chain.
Gainfront provides the enterprises with a supplier performance scorecard, a tracking tool that is used to monitor supplier performance. Now, these supplier scorecards track metrics such as quality, delivery, lead time, price, and responsiveness of the suppliers over a period of time. Supplier performance experts utilize these scorecards information to enhance supplier relationships.
Supplier Self Assessment
The Supplier Self-Assessment is the first step in the supplier selection process for all potential suppliers to any enterprise. The Self-Assessment is a self-guided survey that an enterprise requests pertinent information about the suppliers and their business. Once completed, the Commodity Management Team will evaluate your input and determine how to proceed further.
Supplier Negotiation
Supplier negotiation is the process of creating favorable terms as part of a new supplier contract. Now, this negotiation process can involve negotiating various terms with an existing supplier after the current contract expires to renew a new one or discussing terms from scratch with a new supplier.
Supplier negotiations are usually used to determine a fair price and other terms and conditions that involve production time, the delivery time of goods and services, quality standards, and many more. Rather than aiming at the cheapest price, the supplier negotiation is always about finding a middle ground, the best option for both supplier and buyer. Such negotiations will help build better supplier relationships in the long term. To make sure every single term and condition you set out to achieve is included in negotiations with your suppliers, it is essential to set objectives before entering into negotiations.
Supplier Risk Assessment
Supplier risk assessment is typically an audit of a supplier’s process, terms, policies, and financial health to understand how much risk it is to the contracting enterprise.
When you do a third-party supplier risk assessment, you identify the most likely outcomes of unpredictable events, and then understand, measure, and prioritize them. These inherent risks include the efficiency and dependability of the operational, customer, and financial information; firewall breaches, operations effectiveness, legal and regulatory compliance. By carrying out supplier due diligence and their service history evaluation, enterprises can mitigate such risks which could result in either monetary loss or security breach or both.
Global Supplier Management
Whether it is a brick-and-mortar or eCommerce, it is essential to understand how international supply management works. When it comes to managing global suppliers, things can get pretty complicated pretty fast. Doing business with suppliers “across the waters” could be a challenging task. Here are a few things you should know to gain a competitive edge:
-> Know your suppliers
-> Set minimum standards
-> Take certifications at face value
-> Build relationships
-> Take advantage of GFSI
-> Conduct product audits
-> Have product specifications
-> Ensure label compliance
Supplier Network
A supplier network is basically a virtual platform where suppliers and enterprises collaborate and do business together regardless of where they are. This network will help in identifying more suitable opportunities for enterprises, speed up the process of selection of goods, delivery, and payment. In addition, it minimizes errors, paperwork, and other delays in the process. Supplier networks offer enterprises plenty of options to choose from according to their requirement, preference, and convenience.
Supplier Compliance Management
Supplier compliance management involves the process of managing all aspects of your enterprise’s and your supplier’s compliance with legal, technical, statutory, and BBBEE requirements. This will make sure both your enterprise and your suppliers are legally compliant and verified to access industry-related business opportunities and reduce trading risks.
