3 tips to improve supplier information management and prepare your company for compliance and risk challenges. For most companies, supplier information management has always been an afterthought. However over the last few years, increased risk and compliance requirements have made accurate and timely information more important than ever. Today, many organizations struggle with keeping supplier information up to date, or have not prioritized projects to improve the quality of their data. sharedserviceslink and Tradeshift conducted a Pulse Survey of the shared services market to understand how important accurate supplier information is, and what steps organizations are taking to improve supplier information and compliance. Download this report for our results and our 3 tips to improve your supplier information management.

1. RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
© sharedserviceslink and Tradeshift 2016
3tips to improve
supplier information
management
and prepare your company
for compliance and risk
challenges
INFOGRAPHIC REPORT
For most companies, supplier information management
has always been an afterthought. However over the last
few years, increased risk and compliance requirements
have made accurate and timely information more
important than ever.
Today, many organizations struggle with keeping supplier
information up to date, or have not prioritized projects to
improve the quality of their data.
sharedserviceslink and Tradeshift conducted a Pulse
Survey of the shared services market to understand how
important accurate supplier information is, and what steps
organizations are taking to improve supplier information
and compliance.
We surveyed 50 senior shared services professionals.
Respondents included Finance and AP Directors, Data
Managers, Procurement Directors, Tax and Supply Chain
Directors.
Most organizations recognize this is an important area to
address and improve
Over half - 52%
- of respondents face issues of non
compliance from suppliers.
But which kind of supplier compliance are they most
focused on…?
Compliance to internal policies ranks nearly as high as
external regulations.
Data quality is a problem
Nearly half (48%) described the quality of their
supplier information as poor or fair, acknowledging
that information was causing problems to some
extent. And, since 38% don’t use tools to measure
compliance, the problem may be even bigger than
reported.
Interest in improving supplier information
is on the rise
40% are actively investing in improving supplier
information and compliance.
Self-service capabilities and access to
third party data to validate information
are critical for a supplier management tool.
Develop a forward-thinking plan
to tackle master data.
Many companies only start to address
master data issues after a serious problem
occurs. Instead of waiting for something to
go wrong, start looking at how important
supplier information management is to support the
future of your business. Supplier data touches every part
of the source-to-pay process, so it should be a priority.
Develop a sense of what “ideal” looks like and work on a
plan to get you there.
Read on for our results and our 3 tips to improve
your supplier information management.
What is supplier information management?
Source: The Hackett Group
Past
(Traditional vendor master)
Fragmented master data
Siloed data
Internal data only
Limited to structured data
Historical information
Information batches
Buyer driven information
Process driven
Static data
Present
(Supplier information management)
Consolidated data
Cross functional, Cross-referenced data
Bringing in data from external sources
to support decisions
Incorporating unstructured data
Predictive and intelligent capabilities
Real-time information
Self-service information
Process driving
Knowledge and intelligence
“We’ve seen a transformation in supplier information
management. Going from the traditional vendor master
to what we now hear being called supplier information
management or supplier lifecycle management.”
Amy Fong, P2P Advisory Program Leader,
The Hackett Group
“For supplier information, governance is key. We believe it
should be the responsibility of Procurement and the
business, supported by IT. Traditionally AP enters suppliers
into the supplier master, and we see procurement vetting
who goes in, against a larger set of criteria.”
Amy Fong, P2P Advisory Program Leader,
The Hackett Group
“When we look at the profile of a procurement organization
and what it takes to be World Class, having strong
capabilities around the governance and management of
information, as well as the systems to use it well, are key.”
Amy Fong, P2P Advisory Program Leader,
The Hackett Group
In a 2014 Hackett Group study on Supply Risk Management,
65% of respondents said supplier self service /
self-registration was a “must-have” software feature.
The Hackett
Group
estimate it
takes, on
average,
$18 to add
or update a
supplier
record.
80%
34%
had revenues of
over $1BN USD
The quality of our
supplier
information is
poor or fair.
Supplier
information is
good, but could
be improved.
Supplier
information is
at a very high
standard.
had revenues
over $10BN USD
Who owns supplier master data
in your organization?
Accuracy and quality of supplier
information
Have you faced an issue of
non-compliance from a supplier?
What type of supplier
compliance and risk aspects are
most important to you?
12%
22%
22%
42%
Procurement
IT
Other
Finance
Accounts
Payable
2%
Master data is
generally owned
by Procurement,
Finance or AP
12%
52%36%
Current performance around
ensuring compliance and
reducing risk within supply base
Supplier compliance
measurement
The top "must-have" supplier
management capabilities
About Tradeshift
48%
46%
6%
10%
38%
46%
6%
Poor Excellent
Fair Good
I don’t
know
No Yes
Compliance to
external regulations
(governmental,
industry specific)
Adherence to
performance
requirements
Social responsibility/CSR
(environmental, ethical,
health and safety, etc)
We have problems with our
supplier information and
compliance, which is likely
putting our company at risk
Our supplier information and
compliance is not
comprehensive, but we don’t
believe this puts us at risk
We are actively investing in
improving supplier
information and compliance
Our supplier information
is high quality, and we
have low risk
Compliance to
internal policies &
code of conduct
Compliance to
processes
82%
80%
50%
44%
32%
16%
30%
40%
14%
Only14%
of
companies
believe they
have high
quality supplier
information,
and don’t need
to improve.
Using a semi-automated
tool or software solution
that keeps track of
supplier compliance
Using a comprehensive
solution that manages
end-to-end supplier
compliance
A combination of the
above options
None of the above
22%
36%
38%
4%
38%
of respondents
don’t use any tools to
measure supplier
compliance, so they
are measuring
manually, or not at all.
Ability for suppliers to
update their own
information (self-service)
Flexible way to run
customsupplier programs around
risk, compliance or performance
A workflow to improve
new or changed
supplier data
Ability to access the risk
profile of a supplier
Access to compliance
templates (e.g., Anti
bribery/corruption)
Improving supplier
compliance
Access to third-party
sources that verify data (tax
ID, bank account info, etc)
Reducing supplier risk
52%
50%
42%
38%
36%
34%
22%
6%
Self-service is key. 52%
prioritize ability for suppliers to
update their own information
So what can we learn from
this data?
So what can you do to improve?
Here are 3 tips that will improve
supplier compliance and
reduce risk.
1
2
3
Measure your current state of
compliance and supplier risk
exposure.
These survey results indicate supplier
compliance and risk are often monitored
manually, or perhaps not at all. Considering how
important it is, consider tools to help you holistically
manage compliance and risk and find areas to improve.
Great tools exist to help automate this process, so you
don’t have to do this manually.
Embrace the future of supplier
self-service tools.
Network-driven technology, similar to what
we use to connect socially, is valuable for
keeping supplier information fresh. Allowing
and encouraging suppliers to keep their own
information up to date on a network removes the burden
from your team. Ensure that the tools you use can link
supplier information to transactions (e.g., POs and
invoices) and that they use 3rd party data to enrich and
validate supplier data.
Tradeshift is a cloud based platform that connects buyers
and suppliers, to transform the way they buy, pay, and
work together. Tradeshift connects 500,000 companies
across 190 countries.
Tradeshift®
Risk is an innovative, all-encompassing way to
always have access to accurate supplier information and
use it to improve supplier compliance and mitigate risk.
For more information visit: tradeshift.com/solutions/risk
or contact vpa@Tradeshift.com