Despite supply chain disruption awareness, organizations remain exposed. 100% of executives surveyed in a recent report were concerned about potential supply chain disruptions.

While most organizations monitor Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, only 12% have visibility into Tier 3 and beyond. Unfortunately, this is where disruptions often originate. These hidden upstream dependencies, combined with delayed response, create systemic exposure that is difficult to detect and harder to manage in real time.

What causes the difficulties with the Tier 3 and beyond suppliers? There are various reasons, but the most likely ones are:

• Limited availability of technology to deliver information in real time
• Selling a niche product that cannot be purchased anywhere else; therefore, they do not see the necessity to invest in technology to sell their product
• Lack of inventory management causing incomplete, delayed or replacement orders
• Manual inventory counts
• Discrepancies between orders and invoices because of errors in manual processes

Real-time visibility is only useful if the data is accurate. Customers may distrust supplier data and create additional audits and reporting requirements. Some companies put metrics in place and mandate suppliers to provide data. These metrics can include:

• On-time delivery
• Quality performance
• Responsiveness
• Accuracy of data

If you rely solely on mandates, Tier 3+ suppliers often provide low-quality, delayed, or manually entered data. Therefore, you may receive the data in real-time, but the accuracy of the data is questionable. If you make visibility beneficial to them as well, adoption and data quality will improve dramatically.

Companies often find that a small investment in integration can help avoid costly supply chain disruptions. Many create supplier portals so suppliers can receive, enter, and share important information. However, a common mistake is designing the portal to work only with their company. As a result, suppliers are reluctant to use it because they already manage multiple portals for different customers. While customers need a solution that meets their own needs, suppliers need a solution that works across all of their customer relationships.

To learn more about our Innovate Supplier Portal, call us today at 412-681-7090 or email Innovate E-Commerceinfo@innovateec.com