Whether your processes are fully functional or need improving, the Canopy Supplier Management Platform helps you do procurement smarter.
For many consumers, the sourcing of goods and services they use every day can be a bit of a mystery. And even for many in business or public-sector organisations, procurement processes can seem like a black box. But when things go wrong in procurement, there can be visible, real-world consequences, whether that's a lack of construction materials or restricted supplies of protective equipment. Here at Canopy, we have solutions for making procurement better and more transparent. In a series of bogs, we're going to be looking at the features of our proprietary supplier management platform. In the first blog, we take an overview of why it's important to keep procurement data in one place, so that you can do procurement smarter.
Cutting through complex supply chains to make the right decisions
The business of procurement has come a long way since its origins in military logistics, when the role of professional quartermaster came into being four centuries ago. The industrial revolution honed the approach, as rapid expansion of networks and modes of transport made it easier to procure (and to sell) goods and services further away. Nowadays, complex global supply chains can involve a bewildering array of suppliers operating in different jurisdictions. As we've seen clearly over the past two years, it can be hard to alter those supply chains when circumstances change.
Unsurprisingly in the modern information technology era, good procurement relies on good data. And indeed, it relies on ever more data. Organisations increasingly take ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations into account when making their procurement decisions. Companies are scrutinised as to whether they're taking the right decisions, both in terms of cost and ethical standpoint. It means that company stakeholders need to be asking the right questions to improve procurement processes. Whether it's a brand-new contact or a tried and trusted supplier, you'll need to have all the information at your fingertips.
Starting as you mean to continue with new suppliers
Capturing and documenting these decision-making processes takes time but can be done properly. With our experience, we know that you need to get the data right to do procurement properly. Canopy, our proprietary supplier management platform has key features that take a data-driven approach to solving the main challenges in procurement.
By creating Vendor Master Records for each of your suppliers, we combine every aspect of profile management in one place. It's up to suppliers to keep their profiles up-to-date and accurate, reducing reliance on your company stakeholders or third parties to maintain data. This record acts as a document repository covering everything from contact and banking information to contracts, insurances, capabilities and ESG compliance.
Our approach allows for rules-based onboarding of new suppliers. We tailor the onboarding process both to your business and the type of supplier, so you get the data you need to make effective decisions. Approvals are automatically routed to the relevant stakeholders in your business, so you don’t waste time chasing paperwork and suppliers can be onboarded quickly. And by using this approach, we work risk and compliance management into your processes from the outset, making all your supply chains more robust.
Canopy ensures that procurement stays on track
Once suppliers are fully onboarded and integrated into your procurement processes, you'll need to be able to keep tabs on them. Canopy automatically tracks every data field in the vendor master record, alerting you when something needs your attention and notifying suppliers when information needs updating. Compliance rules drive a RAG status of supplier availability, which can be used to trigger the ERP to prevent non-compliant trade.
With your whole supply chain at your fingertips, the operators in your business now know who they should be trading with. Company stakeholders have access to centrally located supplier data, securely managed through our SOC1/ISAE3402 audited processes. The platform includes a simple-to-use supplier search and selection function, with governance rules set centrally to give the right level of autonomy to every system user. And it's easy to create, manage and maintain preferred supplier lists for those vendors who are most in use.
Of course, we know that evaluation and performance are vital tools for every procurement team, so it's a key feature of our platform. Performance review data allows local stakeholders to assess and report on supplier performance. And the system makes both quantitative and qualitative feedback accessible to approved internal system users. That way, you won't repeat costly mistakes by suppliers.
We'll be looking at Canopy's individual features in more detail in future blogs. In the meantime, to find out more about how our supplier management software can help your organisation do procurement properly, contact one of the team today.
Visit: www.team-canopy.com
Email: hello@team-canopy.com
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Post by Nick Verkroost
Nick is an experienced business leader and the COO for Canopy (OCG Software), the rules-based Supplier Management platform. Nick's focus is on commercial and operational excellence and ensuring our clients maximise the opportunities that Canopy offers.