The launch of new procurement solution Profiler by supply chain and procurement specialist TiVA is set to completely change supply chain management by creating more efficiently managed buyer-supplier relationships and reducing the adversarial relationship that often exists between the two.
Profiler joins TiVA’s existing suite of supplier relationship management services that include the company’s Benchmarker and Tracker applications, the latter of these has just completed a successful pilot programme. It improves effective procurement by capturing information specifically designed to increase buyer insight of a highly segmented supplier base, which can span myriad sectors and services, by building intelligent supplier profiles to deliver real business benefits to both buyer and supplier.
The solution also allows buyers to define strengths, evaluate weaknesses and measure how closely suppliers meet corporate buyer requirements and match personalised ‘ideal supplier’ specifications in any given category.
“Profiler is a user-friendly web-based application that allows buyers to identify and select suppliers across any product category to match pre-defined criteria,” says Andy Brown, chief executive of Otley-based TiVA. “In practical terms this will enable a buyer to understand how an existing supplier is suited to provide services or products to a company. It can also enable buyers to identify suppliers who match criteria. In real terms this can save time and money by allowing buyers to identify the most appropriate supplier for a particular task in the most efficient way possible.”
The process engages suppliers through an online questionnaire which is fed into to the Profiler system and which generates a report identifying those suppliers who are best matched to a buyer’s requirements.
As well as improving communication across the supply chain for the buyer, the solution also delivers a number of benefits to suppliers. The intelligence provided by the system is also made available to individual suppliers, providing significant insight into a buyer’s requirements.
