Supplier Information And Supplier Performance – Key To Managing Global Supply Chain

By Author: Abinash Panda
Total Articles: 9
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Globalization, has forced organizations to move beyond their local boundaries and reach out to the emerging demand from different regions across the globe. Globalization has had positive impacts on businesses in many ways. However globalization brings with it the challenge of managing a global supply chain.
This article focuses on two aspects viz. supplier information and supplier performance as key to managing a global supply chain.
Supplier information is often distributed in different parts of the organization. However a gap is seen as far as the interconnection of this data among the various departments & geographies. This gives rise to management issues at various levels be it operational, functional or at the strategic level.
Supplier Information Management allows an enterprise to aggregate, collect and maintain the information from all distributed systems within the organization, ...
... thus enabling a consolidated view of supplier data, process status and relationships.
This arrangement benefits the sourcing professionals to find new insights and opportunities. The insights on offer go a long way in risk assessment and managing supplier performance.
Good supplier performance is the one of the keys that can enable firms to achieve business performance excellence. Monitoring supplier performance not only encompasses risk mitigation but also helps in prevention of problems. It also benefits the organization with,
• Improved collaboration between suppliers and the organization leading to better coordination
• Enabling decision making based on quantitative data which in turn ensures quick and rational decision making
Supplier Evaluation is one of the fundamental steps to evaluate a supplier on the adaptability towards one's organization. The basis for the evaluation of suppliers is to understand what the stakeholders expect from them.
However, before choosing to measure and manage, the criteria used to evaluate the suppliers, the company's goals & objectives must be kept in mind. Of the numerous areas of supplier performance measurement, it is tantamount to select the ones that are most important viz.:
• Financial health (risk of bankruptcy, liquidity, sales, etc.)
• Operational Performance (quality, lead times, customer services, etc.)
• Contract compliance
• Business Processes (defect prevention, inspections, etc.) and
Keeping a track of supplier information and monitoring supplier performance can play an important role in managing global supply chain. Some of the benefits that are on offer are as follows,
• Avoiding costly and potentially devastating supply disruption
• Reduce risk towards scenarios like; defects/environmental problem/safety issues etc.
• Implement corrective actions before the problem becomes a big headache or hits the bottom line
About Us
Zycus Inc. is a global provider of Spend Management solutions (Spend Analysis, Strategic Sourcing, Contract Management, Supplier Performance Management and Supplier Information Management) that are world renowned for delivering an accelerated return on investment through superior user adoption to create Maximized Savings. With more than 200 global proven implementations, Zycus’ solutions have emerged as the global favorite. To find out more, go to www.zycus.com.