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Supplier management systems marketplace Gartner and Forrester research, this year, identified several strong players and many niche technology players in the traditional strategic sourcing competencies of analysis, sourcing, contracting and supply base management. The landscape is becoming more complex with the development of many overlapping solutions; ranging from ERP and P2P extensions to governance, risk and compliance solu- tions; and supplier information management to deep sustainability solutions. In addition, we continue to see mergers and acquisitions and alliance activity in the market place, especially by the larger players. However, there still appears to be some evolution required in the market, focused on pure supplier management solu- tions where value is delivered post the contract being established. It is understandable that organisations are looking to develop more coherent infor- mation and technology strategies to support and enable effective end to end procurement. It is therefore all the more surprising that technology solutions to pro-actively manage the post contract supplier relationship have not been consid- ered a priority. SRM, of course, is not the preserve of procurement alone. All areas of the business who hope to manage strategic supplier relationships more effec- tively need to consider the dependency on information and technology. In some cases the strategy is to reduce the number of systems in place or at least concentrate on a system that manages the operational procurement processes of analysis, sourcing, contracts and P2P. Extending this approach beyond operational processes may appear to be a sensible approach. However, it can often lead to one system that is best in class for only a part of the procurement process and is sub-op- timal for other supplier management requirements. The alternative is a suite of best in class solutions that are fit for purpose in all phases of the procurement process and are integrated as required. SRM has some unique characteristics, not least of which is its business wide scope that also includes suppliers. This is compounded by the necessity to manage through multiple levels of suppliers across divisions, regions and categories. Procurement systems are not usually designed for this breadth of use. This view is supported by the survey feedback where respondents are identifying fragmented systems with limited relevant functionality, and a lack of accessibility for suppliers and stakeholders as major barriers. We have also witnessed evolving supplier management capabilities required to cover areas such as innovation, collaboration, benefits management and CSER. This evolution is evident within supplier portals, supplier networks, invoicing and supply chain solutions, which aim to deliver value across the whole supply chain. Another key driver of the development of solutions, is the integration of new business models and processes. Leading organisations are looking at social, mobile, collabora- tive and cloud based options, as well as progressive solutions such as crowd and open sourcing, predictive analytics and real time supply market intelligence. With a clear strategy, procurement can align their information and technology roadmap with the procurement team’s SRM transformation.
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