Use of environments such as MS SharePoint

In the past it often made sense to go to the market for specialist solutions for providing important supplier information. In the rare cases where all relevant data is stored and, more importantly, maintained in ERP systems that are accessible to everyone, it clearly makes to use these to add this type of functionality here. However, where this is not the case, organisations should seriously consider solutions such as MS SharePoint to bring such information together.

In-depth transformation of ERP and other data

The "devil is in the detail" always. Because of the cost of doing so, many organisations lack discipline on data entry, consistency in ERP configuration, and fail to properly manage the "metadata" necessary for intelligent analysis of the information held in such systems. Often those who report from these systems, routinely "cleanse" the data in offline tools prior to release to those interested - and in some cases do so in a selective way designed to please the reader. Routine reporting, with a strict rule of no post cleansing, encourages correct entry of data at source.

Kill the standalone spreadsheets

Nowadays there is no excuse for the use of standalone spreadsheets or presentation packs for conveying routine information about suppliers. The major consultancies earn significant sums of money from organisations who fail to put in place the appropriate on-line infrastructure.