Today’s supply chain
The supply chain has changed considerably in the last 10 years.
Companies have greatly focused on optimizing processes in terms of:
- lowering costs
- maximizing asset utilization
But losing sight of one important feature: flexibility.
Now more than ever, due to the uncertain situation we are experiencing, flexibility is necessary in order to better manage cooperation with suppliers and overcome the critical situations that are emerging within companies.
The main need perceived by Supply Chain Managers is the reduction of costs, but the in-depth knowledge of their supplier pool too is a fundamental element to be considered in this resumption phase.
Changing the approach
It is important first of all to change the approach to the problem and use the right levers to reach the goal:
- sizing constantly size one’s supplier pool in order to optimize and manage waste within the process
- knowing one’s supply chain process by measuring the monitoring efficiency of the supplier pool
- measuring the cost-effectiveness of each supplier
- bringing supplier measurement onto a neutral and objective field
- defining the targets to be achieved with a view to improvement
All these levers, if used efficiently and constantly, allow one to get to know one’s supplier pool, with a view to making the supply chain proactive, “open to the market” and aware of opportunities.
The importance of alternative suppliers
When talking about efficient supplier pool management, we cannot underestimate the search for alternative suppliers and when this takes place.
Often companies do not look for potential suppliers, except when they strictly need them.
This is a mistake that can be costly for a company.
Let’s try to think how much the search for an alternative supplier could cost in conditions of full necessity and what the effects could be on the productivity of the purchasing process and along the entire supply chain.
It is important, therefore, to always keep the doors open to the market in order to intercept potential opportunities and, once these are identified, to take a proactive attitude by using levers and tools that are useful to better qualify potential suppliers:
- segmenting companies in the reference market
- constantly monitoring players from an economic/financial/asset viewpoint
- holding a dialogue with them regardless of necessity
- implementing support digital tools
If we dwell on this last point, it is even more evident how the implementation of enabling technologies responds to the main need to acquire flexibility and survive the drastic and sudden changes that can occur, especially in emergency situations.
This is because the digitization of the supply chain translates into cooperation, accessibility, scalability and simplicity.
Support your supply chain
IUNGO guarantees the involvement of all suppliers and covers the various areas of the supply chain (payment proxies, sourcing, vendor management, quality) in a totally end-to-end of the supply chain logic.
All this is possible thanks to the disruptive IUNGOMail, a patented interaction tool that imitates in a simple email the functionality of a traditional web portal.
Cooperation via email is a winning solution for us, our customers and their suppliers because it is safe, effective and flexible.
Advantages:
- it ensures the same levels of performance as other supply chain collaboration tools,
- it facilitates suppliers in the use of a simple and accessible solution,
- it enables them to keep the same technological infrastructure in house and not to have to make any IT changes.
IUNGO manages to achieve the goal of 100% supplier integration precisely because it has a reactive approach.
In a situation like the one we are experiencing, the ability to activate and deactivate suppliers quickly and easily thanks to IUNGOmail is vital.