In the process of corporate procurement, the most feared/worried thing is nothing more than: abnormal supply chain.
Supply chain anomalies, also known as supply chain risks, can be simply divided into four categories: demand risks, supplier risks, logistics risks, and financial risks.
Among them, the most prominent risk is supplier risk. From finding suitable suppliers to managing procurement contracts, and then monitoring suppliers’ delivery status for final payment settlement, any problem with suppliers in any link will lead to less than expected results and negatively affect the normal operation of the enterprise.
Common supplier risks are:
● Suppliers cut off the supply of raw materials, resulting in limited production and delays in manufacturing, which usually occurs with monopolistic bottleneck suppliers;
● Suppliers stockpile, resulting in rising raw material prices and procurement costs;
● Suppliers issue false or expired quality certificates, provide inferior raw materials and cause quality accidents, resulting in loss of business and reputation of the company;
● Supplier information feedback is not timely, resulting in low procurement efficiency. In case of engineering changes, it takes a long time to confirm and easily leads to waste of materials;
● There are risks in the supplier's financial, judicial, reputation and other aspects. For example, the supplier's other customers who cooperate with the supplier do not pay back in place, causing the supplier to face operational risks and affecting the supplier's subsequent normal supply.
With the increasingly fierce business environment, the complexity of business operations continues to increase. In order to maintain the stability and security of the supply chain, identifying and controlling supplier risks has become the focus of most corporate procurement personnel.
So where to start? How to start?
Regarding this issue, we might as well take a look at what the hot chat robot ChatGPT said recently. The following is the conversation between the editor and ChatGPT, which you can use as a reference.
Q: From the perspective of corporate procurement management, how do you think supplier risks should be identified and controlled?
A: From the perspective of enterprise procurement management, the following steps need to be followed to identify and control supplier risks:
Evaluate suppliers: Before selecting a supplier, the supplier's economic status, technical capabilities, credit rating, experience and other factors should be evaluated to determine whether the supplier meets the procurement requirements.
Establish supplier contracts: Sign detailed contracts with suppliers to clarify product quality standards, delivery time, price and other transaction terms to prevent risks caused by unclear transaction terms.
Monitor supplier performance: During the procurement process, supplier performance should be evaluated periodically to ensure that the supplier will perform according to the terms of the contract.
Q: Can cloud procurement management software meet the above requirements?
A: Yes, cloud procurement management software can help companies identify and control supplier risks. Many advanced procurement management software have the function of identifying and controlling supplier risks. The key lies in the management of the entire life cycle of suppliers and the control of the entire procurement process.
Supplier lifecycle management can effectively avoid supplier risks:
Supplier lifecycle management includes all stages from supplier selection to contract termination, identifying, evaluating, monitoring and managing suppliers.
For example, in the supplier development and admission stage, through the assessment and assessment of suppliers, comprehensive evaluation of suppliers' qualifications, reputation and experience and other factors can not only ensure the stability and reliability of suppliers, reduce risks, and ensure supply . It is also beneficial for enterprises to find suppliers with greater production capacity, higher efficiency, better service, cheaper prices, and better quality to replace existing suppliers and reduce costs.
In the contract execution phase, performance management and risk management are particularly important:
On the one hand, corresponding performance evaluation indicators can be formulated to regularly evaluate the performance of suppliers. Classify, rectify and eliminate suppliers according to the assessment results to ensure that suppliers can deliver on time, quantity and quality according to contract requirements, reduce risks in the production process of suppliers and take timely measures when problems occur.
On the other hand, through the establishment of a supplier database, monitor and identify supplier information, ensure that enterprises can keep abreast of the status of cooperative supplier information changes, and avoid risks in the supplier's business operations, such as the supplier's qualification validity period, financial status, and credit status.
Procurement process control can help purchasers reduce the risk of cooperation with suppliers:
The focus of procurement process control is to achieve efficient coordination between procurement and suppliers, to ensure the smooth flow of information between various links in the procurement process, and to avoid risks caused by information out of sync.
For example, when an engineering change is initiated, it needs to be confirmed by both parties, which requires high timeliness. If the speed of communication and confirmation with suppliers cannot keep up, corresponding measures cannot be taken for the materials put into production, which may cause a small amount of waste of materials, or lead to short-term inventory shortages or backlogs, affecting the normal operation of the enterprise.
对于合作订单，采供双方信息协同可以及时反馈订单交期异常情况，利于企业及时采取措施，保障订单交期，规避因供应商交货不合预期导致的风险。
以企企通采购云为例，提供供应商全生命周期管理、采购流程、合同管理、招标、询价等一站式服务，尤其在供应商风险管理方面，实现从准入、合作、到评估的全程跟踪，及时预知风险项，降低企业风险。
无需安装软件，开通账号密码即可登录使用，不需要高成本投入就能改进企业供应链和采购管理，降本增效。
可以根据企业需求进行配置，支持多种云端部署方式，满足不同的业务需求。且拥有完备的安全保障技术、权威专业认证及测评，保证软件的稳定性和安全性。对比传统采购管理软件，云端部署显得更加灵活、易用、安全。
采购管理软件是企业采购管理的重要工具，通过供应商全生命周期管理和采购全流程的把控，不仅可以确保企业供应商体系有序且受监控运行，从源头规避供应商风险，提升企业在市场竞争中的应变能力和竞争力。还能帮助企业实现高效、合规、阳光采购，提升工作效率，有效降低企业采购成本。