DOCUMENT & DATA MANAGEMENT
business case, it might be beneficial to identify how Supplier Information Management will fit in with the overall supplier management strategy.
BENEFITS Once the solution has been
proposed, it needs to be sold in to key stakeholders and matched against the overall corporate strategy.
1. Minimising Supplier Risk Vendor governance is key to FM organisations as brand is often reliant on how third parties are performing. Reinforcing supplier compliance in key areas, helping improve vendor governance and ensuring suppliers meet standards expected to clients and third parties is critical.
2. Efficiency Savings The concept of ‘supplier on-boarding’ places the onus on suppliers to complete the initial and on-going information, reducing supplier management costs by 60-80%. This, coupled with workflows and automated alerts or reminders ensures information is kept complete and up-to-date.
3. Greater Visibility A central cloud based source
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of information is key for FM providers operating a large supplier base, especially if information needs to be shared across multiple locations and departments. Central and real time access to supplier information helps reduce off contact spend and minimise the use of unapproved suppliers.
4. Accountability It is essential to have a full audit trail, giving traceability and evidence of best practice, and ensuring procedures are in place to protect brand and reputation.
In addition to ‘the benefits’ it can also be useful to explore the ‘what if’s?’ This can help to further highlight the importance of effective supplier management systems. E.g. What could the implications be if a business does not have up-to-date insurance information? What are the hidden costs associated with having incomplete compliance information?
GETTING STARTED Finally it is important to look at
the practicalities of the project. Costs need to be broken down, and therefore expected software costs need to be identified
including the initial implementation outlays and the ongoing operational requirements.
Perceived costs can be positioned against the proposed saving opportunities. It can be a good idea to calculate the current cost of managing suppliers against the average 60-80% savings Supplier Information Management software can deliver. It is also a good idea to work out when you expect to see a return on investment from the project.
It can be useful to include timescales: the research suggests that most FM professionals would expect the implementation process for a project like this to take months or years to complete. Because SIM solutions are often cloud- based, they can be fully-functional within weeks, but be realistic with proposed timings.
Each business case is different, but the research report ‘Supplier Information Management in the FM Sector’ provides a good benchmark for companies looking to improve their SIM processes.
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