Supplier Management

Improve supplier relationships with a streamlined process
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The UK Procurement Act emphasises value for money, public benefit and integrity. Procurement departments must revise their criteria and processes to align with these principles. This entails a more holistic evaluation of bids, considering not just cost, but also the broader impact and ethical standards of suppliers.

This is where supplier management and qualification is key.

With Proactis Supplier Relationship Management you can build and maintain a strong supplier base by structuring and streamlining the entire supplier lifecycle – from initial identification to adoption, approval, transaction and analysis.

It helps manage the whole process, reducing supplier risk and improving supplier relationships while dramatically reducing administrative effort. You can bring together all information about your suppliers in one central location, with all data available across the organisation.

See every supplier all in one place

View every supplier and their goods, services, certifications, specialties, locations and contacts. 

Suppliers are made available to all your key systems automatically.
Supplier Relationship Management - See every vendor all in one place

Always up-to-date vendor information

The vendor profiles contain a wealth of information, such as registration numbers, sales data, contact data, etc. Suppliers can self-serve and keep this data up to date themselves. 

Vendor profiles play a key role in contract management, supplier selection and order processing so vendors are encouraged to keep their profiles up-to-date.

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Keep on top and raise standards

The UK Procurement Act introduces stricter criteria for supplier exclusion and a focus on national security risks, Procurement departments must intensify their due diligence. Implementing robust supplier assessment frameworks and staying vigilant about potential risks becomes paramount. This shift will likely necessitate closer collaboration with legal and compliance teams. 

Proactis provides your team with an easy way to monitor supplier performance and risk, using relevant information from different applications, meaning that you can keep track of vendor performance levels. 

The software will, subsequently, assist in planning and evaluating improvement measures.
Supplier Relationship Management - Keep on top and raise standards
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Our experts will guide you through our Supplier Relationship Management solution and answer all of your questions:
SRM FAQs
What is Supplier Relationship Management?
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is the process of maintaining, and improving, your supplier base by structuring and streamlining the entire supplier lifecycle – from initial supplier identification to adoption, approval, transaction and analysis. Suppliers can be constantly appraised for how appropriate they are to supply to your organization. The result is visible, risks are identified and the process is auditable. Communications such as checking payment details or account information, changing contact details and updating catalogs are all done online.
How does a vendor management system work?
A well-structured SRM solution supports efficient, consistent supplier recruiting, qualification, on-boarding, and performance appraisal. It does this by making it easy to build and maintain a comprehensive supplier directory and manage the supplier lifecycle by providing web-based tools to support supplier recruiting, qualification, adoption and appraisal. It also simplifies supplier information management and communications by providing a supplier network for self-service maintenance of company information and catalogs, as well as self-service account enquiries.
What are the challenges that Supplier Relationship Management can solve?
  • Supplier on-boarding is time consuming for both parties.
  • Supplier qualification is often subjective, providing little visibility of risks.
  • Consistent measurement and evaluation of supplier performance is difficult.
  • Keeping suppliers’ profiles and catalogues up to date is an enormous task.
  • Accounts Payable personnel spend too much time answering supplier questions about invoices and payments.
How does vendor management play a role in procurement?
Procurement teams can build and maintain a comprehensive supplier directory to manage the supplier lifecycle. You can bring together all information about your suppliers in one central location, with all data available across the organisation. All supplier information is available in one click, and you can be sure that the information is up-to-date. Supplier performance and risk can be monitored using relevant information from different applications, meaning that you can keep track of vendor performance levels. 
How do I automate vendor risk management?
Supplier Relationship Management systems help remove manual processes from supplier appraisals, selection and on-boarding to ongoing evaluation. Suppliers can also be given self-service tools so that they can keep their own information up-to-date and accurate. Read how the University of Sussex has automated it's processes.
 
Why is vendor risk management important?
Supplier risk management is just as critical to your organisation’s financial health and competitive performance as your efforts to produce cost savings. High-risk suppliers need to be constantly appraised for appropriateness to supply to your organisation. The result needs to be visible, risks identified and auditable. The negative impact of a single event on your organisation’s financial position or reputation is potentially huge, even devastating.

Read: Minimise supplier risk.
What are the steps in supplier process management?
Supplier relationship management encompasses:
  • Identifying and selecting the best suppliers.
  • Measuring and improving supplier performance.
  • Collaborating seamlessly with suppliers.
  • Improving supplier quality.
  • Identifying supplier risk. 
Read: Supplier risk management: More than a one-time or periodic event