Supplier Relationship Management

Supplier Relationship Management – (SRM)

Challenges:

The dependence of fast growing construction industry on its suppliers and sub-contractors is increasing. The efficiency of the supply chain is vital to the overall efficiency of the organization. The key challenges include:

Providing platform for domestic as well as international suppliers to approach the organization
Communication between suppliers and organization involving many stakeholders and different communication channels resulting in loss of communication
Constant tracking and updation of supplier information
Managing the documentation with suppliers
Need for transparency between organizations and its suppliers/ sub-contractors for a mature relationship

The Solution:

To address the challenges, supplier portal can be an effective tool that enables collaboration between suppliers, sub-contractors and transporters by providing customized, partner-specific access to buyer’s content, services and applications through internet. It is a centralized portal which automates the large part of the procurement process. Some of the features are as follows:

Platform for suppliers willing to associate with the organization, where they can furnish their details.
The procurement process can be digitized, right from listing RFQ/ RFP on the portal to suppliers accessing the same and submitting their bid online. e-tendering can also take place using supplier portal.
The finalized details along with prices, terms and conditions can be integrated with organization’s ERP system for generating the purchase order/ work order and getting it authorized.
Communications such as shipping details by supplier, goods receipt note by organization, taxation data, certificates can be exchanged electronically
The invoice processing can be automated by integrating supplier portal with ERP
Complete digital record of the history of the supplier can be maintained which can be used for a more scientific vendor evaluation. Various MIS reports can also be made available for the organization as well as for the suppliers.
Security of data can be maintained by defining levels of access/ facilities that they want to provide to each class of supplier.