Posts about Supplier Data

What’s the most important thing in real estate? According to the old saying: location, location, location. But the sentiment can also be applied to enterprise master data.

Given the current state of data growth and the brink of Industry 4.0, the importance of organized data is greater than ever. The way your organization adapts to the large amounts of data about your suppliers is crucial to your success in the industry.

Author: Kayla Cole

Have you ever had to wait on a supplier to send over product information? How often is that information in a format not compatible with your publishing system? Gathering product information for new products and making changes to existing products can be time-consuming and slow. The process of receiving information from suppliers typically involves requesting information from multiple suppliers via email, phone and mail, which often results in information that is incomplete and inconsistent, and demands further manual involvement.

Every time I watch an episode of the fantasy drama HBO series Game of Thrones it strikes me just how many parallels there seems to be between the fictive land Westeros and the worlds of real-life businesses and organisations. After now watching 4 seasons, I can’t help but be annoyed at how little the characters base their decisions and actions upon knowledge and collaboration.

I have had the pleasure of working with a few large national retailers who source products from local suppliers. This is a great business model that allows these companies to provide back to and develop strong relationships within those communities. Regional buyers have control over the purchasing decisions in their regions which affords them the opportunity to lower purchasing costs by reducing shipping costs, offering potentially fresher products (think produce) or products that can only be sourced in that area, and it provides the enterprise an opportunity to reinvest back into the community, strengthening their bonds with suppliers and customers alike.