Increasing Supplier Transparency

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many organizations hadn’t yet seen their supply chain resiliency put to the test, at least not on an international scale. And with its arrival, you could say the pandemic opened everybody’s eyes to just how impactful a single global disruption can be, with a direct impact to supply chain stability.

To say that procurement was affected by the pandemic is an understatement that tested supply chains and stretched supply chain management skills to their limit.

What Have We Learned, and What Next?

We have learned the hard way that while we had all the research at our fingertips—letting us know how our supply chains could be disrupted by unexpected occurrences, like natural disasters and more—we were still in no way prepared for the utter shock to the systems and global impact COVID-19 posed.

And while hindsight is indeed 20/20, we can take lessons learned and use them as vital—and informed—fuel to propel us forward, better, and more robust. How?

While organizations continue to deal with COVID-19, procurement must shift its focus to becoming more agile and resilient. The requirement to constantly monitor the disruption to the market is imperative. Supply chain resiliency depends on end-to-end transparency, efficient and agile supply chain processes, and unshakable, redefined supply chain management. 

Here’s how:

Technology: A Transformative Key Factor for Supply Chain Transparency

Several technologies are working to reshape our day-to-day supply chain processes. The industry is seeing how combining data can drive efficiencies and improve operations. It is imperative that the industry is prepared and has fail safes in place to minimize the damage of future disruptions.

Supply chain transparency is the buzzphrase of the day, and for a good reason. After all, you can’t “fix” what you can’t see. As issues arise today (often rapidly), we need to be ready to address them immediately—actions that require real-time data and agility like never before.

We have seen first-hand how gaps in transparency expose us to dangerously high levels that cause breakdowns in the procurement processes and framework. And no one likes to feel exposed to risk, which is why organizations have turned to modern technologies en masse as they set their sights on creating a more transparent, sustainable supply chain. 

Here is what they have found:

As supply chain management is turning to technology to reshape the way things work, they quickly find that creating the genuinely agile and resilient processes they desire will require far more than a few mere operational tweaks. Instead, what is needed now is a complete technology overhaul, which will see companies armed with the digital tools and capabilities that can transform their operations for radically improved supply chain transparency, stability, and sustainability—despite whatever comes our way.

A Few Specific Ways Technology Is Revolutionizing Supply Chain Transparency

Just as digital platforms allow consumers to stay up-to-date and informed to empower them to make better buying decisions, so are organizations.

Procurement teams adopt these same cutting-edge technologies to revamp their outdated supply chain networks and processes, ushering in greater visibility, broader collaboration, and vastly improved response times and efficiency levels.

What does this look like in real-time?

Some of the most popular technologies that are becoming real game-changers today include cloud computing, big data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), just to name a few. These technologies open the door to rich opportunities to streamline and simplify all operations and give organizations an eagle-eyed, real-time awareness of ALL that is going on so that they are truly equipped to make well-informed, immediate decisions when needed.

It is imperative to set up processes that enable you to maintain and use data insights to share vital data among suppliers and third parties—having the ability to incorporate and implement enterprise-wide data analysis and collaboration tools that can replace outdated and isolated processes. It is enough to bring a smile—and relieved sigh—to any procurement professional.

Here is even more good news regarding how you can revolutionize supplier transparency in your procurement operations. As these above-mentioned technological advances continue to open the door to a brighter, more evolved, and more efficient—and transparent—digital supply chain, brands recognize the need to make this entire revamp process as easy and streamlined as possible for already overloaded and overworked organizations. Let’s talk bottom line.

Bottom Line

We have seen how technology can be the driver to better supply chain transparency, but we want to take things one step further by providing you with the next step to “get there.” Procurement organizations need one source of truth to gain transparency into supplier performance, improve operating efficiencies, and reduce costs. By enhancing their technology, these organizations can simplify reporting and analyze spending on one platform.

Enter Workday, a platform that makes it easy for business users to engage and align with one another across the entire enterprise via self-service technology. A collaborative, cloud-based solution that provides greater visibility throughout the whole sourcing and supplier engagement process, and more, it is the key to unlocking your supply chain management puzzle moving forward.

Learn about Workday, schedule a quick demo, and get started today.