2015 Supplier Network Management Report

Enhancing B2B Processes with Supplier Network Management (SNM) Technology

October 28, 2015

Featuring insights on…

» Current Business Strategies for Managing Suppliers

» Current Market Trends in SNM Software

» Barriers to SNM Solution Adoption

» SNM Adoption Best Practices

» Leading SNM Solution Providers

Underwritten in part by Cortex, Coupa, GEP, and OpenText.

Introduction

Properly managing suppliers is one of the most important elements of an organization’s back-office process, especially for companies with international operations and complex supply chains. Efficient Business-to-Business (B2B) interaction and supplier management is
also important for organizations’ front-end success, as it can affect their legal standing, costs, and brand value.

In the past, organizations tried to streamline supplier management by combining stricter process controls with increased back-office manpower—a costly method that left much room for error. Now, organizations can employ supplier network management (SNM) technology, an advanced tool that combines the power of a B2B network with supplier portal capabilities and robust analytics features. SNM solutions provide more secure transaction processing, stronger B2B communication, and valuable self-service tools for suppliers. They give organizations the ability to see into their entire supply chain and achieve greater supplier compliance. These solutions also greatly reduce the time and costs of dispute resolution, document management, and payment processing.

Unfortunately, despite its many benefits, many organizations today do not use SNM software. This is attributed to several factors, including low supplier participation in B2B and integrated supplier networks and buyers’ reluctance to invest in solutions that suppliers will not accept. However, this resistance is mainly based on a single underlying trend: a lack of education among both buyers and suppliers. Suppliers are unaware of the value that SNM-based software can bring, and buyers do not know effective strategies to promote greater supplier adoption.

This research report examines the current landscape of supplier management strategies, and offers insight into the various tools and resulting benefits present in leading SNM technology. The publication also analyzes the main reasons for low adoption of SNM software, and it outlines what organizations can do to combat this resistance and receive greater ROI from a SNM solution.

Modern Supplier Management

A few decades ago, Business-to-Business collaboration did not extend much further than the simple exchange of orders, invoices, and payments, and the delivery of goods and services. Supply chains were simpler and more localized, and communication was conducted via mail and telephone. For many organizations, supplier management could be handled effectively by by a small number of AP and procurement professionals.

Since then, globalization and improvements in technology have expanded and diversified many aspects of business. Goods and services are becoming more specialized, businesses are going beyond their own countries’ borders to find the most competitive prices, and tax and legal regulations are growing more complex. Now, managing suppliers takes far more labor, time, and careful attention than ever before, and the process is closely tied to a company’s long-term success. Some common tasks in modern supplier management include:

» Locating the best suppliers

» Gathering and maintaining updated supplier information and compliant documentation

» Negotiating prices and managing contracts

» Complying with legal and tax regulations

» Monitoring supplier performance to ensure quality and avoid risk

» Assisting in AP and procurement-related tasks

» Handling supplier inquiries and disputes regarding AP, procurement, and payments issues

» Validating payment information and ensuring that payments are made securely to legally-valid parties

» Maintaining and cultivating responsible and beneficial supplier relationships

In a recent survey, PayStream Advisors asked individuals employed in various industries about their supplier management activities. Research findings indicated that most organizations’ problems in supplier relationships result from poor supplier data management, see Figure 1.

Figure 1: Poor Supplier Data Management is the Leading Cause of Weak Supplier Relationships Among Organizations
“What is the pain that causes the most damage to your organization’s supplier relationships?”

Supplier data management greatly depends on coordination and control. It is an important link in an organization’s supply chain, and even a small disruption in this area can create a ripple effect throughout other supply chain processes. For example, poor communication among AP, procurement, and payments can result in a late payment to a valued supplier and the loss of an important contract for an organization. Or, onboarding a supplier that has not been properly vetted can result in great legal and financial trouble for the buyer.

Research shows that the leading goals for organizations in managing suppliers are improving supplier relationships, improving transparency, communication, and compliance among suppliers, and increasing supply-chain efficiency, see Figure 2.

Figure 2: Organizations Are Interested in Improving Relationships, Compliance, and Efficiency
“What are your top three goals in managing your suppliers?”

Fortunately, SNM solutions can help organizations accomplish these goals. Supplier Network Management platforms coordinate supplier data, provide easy access to information, feature built-in supplier controls, and facilitate strong supplier and buyer relationships.

The Purpose of SNM

B2B networks are the primary business tool for coordinating buyer and supplier interaction. Originally created as EDI transfer mechanisms, these solutions expanded in the 1990s to become Value Added Networks (VANs). They then evolved into B2B marketplaces in the
2000s with the emergence of eProcurement platforms. Business networks facilitate effective automation in three main areas:

» Increase speed of B2B transactions through uniform electronic communications (e.g., electronic invoices, POs)

» Support document sharing between parties (e.g., legal documents, remittance data)

» Enable communication and collaboration (e.g., online help desks)

Many modern B2B networks offer or integrate with supplier portals also known as integrated supplier networks), which are networks of suppliers that connect to online commerce solutions, such as eProcurement or eInvoicing platforms. This integration enables
organizations to go beyond monitoring transaction data—they have visibility into supplier activity and performance history, buyer and supplier electronic communication, and relevant legal and tax documents, providing one source of truth for all process-flow activity.

Today’s B2B and supplier portal capabilities continue to mature, shifting the focus from simply hosting supplier-buyer interactions to enhancing these interactions. The latest innovation in this arena is the supplier network management solution, a tool that combines advanced supplier portal features, eInvoicing and PO capabilities, and a supplier analytics solution into one cohesive platform. Key SNM features include:

» Purchasing Management – SNM solutions facilitate PO transmission and routing to suppliers, and create the means by which buyers and suppliers can communicate regarding POs and all supporting documents. Some solutions provide buyers with visibility into item availability and price, order fulfillment, and shipment statuses, and give suppliers the ability to manage their catalog items, either through native procurement solutions or integration with buyers’ existing procurement systems.

» Automated Invoicing – SNM solutions help automate the invoice process through eInvoicing, which brings a greater degree of data accuracy and faster payments, among other benefits. Advanced invoice automation solutions enable invoice submission in multiple formats beyond traditional EDI, such as emailed PDF invoices that can be recognized with OCR data capture software. This flexibility allows suppliers to choose which format works best for them, bringing buyers a greater degree of invoice automation adoption.

» Supplier Directory – With an SNM solution, buying organizations have a single, centralized repository for their supplier company and contact data. User organizations can decide which specific supplier information is collected and maintained, including corporate-level data (e.g., products, technical capabilities, and compliance status) and content-level data (e.g., names, emails, logos, skills, roles, and responsibilities). Buyers can perform both quick, keyword searches and advanced, filtered searches through the directory.

» Self-Service Supplier Profile Maintenance – SNM software allows suppliers to maintain their own information, which is also appealing to buyers. This capability gives suppliers more autonomy, and relieves the buyer’s burden of tracking down correct information. Suppliers can keep their profile information updated, enter payment information, and import documents such as contracts, insurance certificates, and tax forms.

» Integration with Source-to-Settle – Some SNM solutions also provide native Source-to-Settle (S2S) tools or offer the ability to integrate with existing S2S system, including solutions for sourcing, procurement, and contract management. This connectivity allows suppliers to use the SNM solution to participate in more advanced technology, as well as more competitive opportunities (e.g. sourcing events).

While some basic B2B networks and supplier portals include several of the above supplier management capabilities, leveraging a network that features a robust SNM solution gives organizations access to a host of additional value-added services. These include:

» Mass Communication and Monitoring – Many SNM solutions allow buying organizations to send targeted, custom messages to large groups of suppliers at once, as well as facilitating the creation of surveys, questionnaires, and other web forms. A buying organization can also request documentation, or ask that a supplier participate in a risk/validation review. A detailed audit trail of supplier activity allows enterprises to obtain real-time updates via reports and dashboards. Some SNM solutions include reminder capabilities to ensure that suppliers complete high-priority initiatives in a timely manner.

» Project Management – A quality SNM solution allows enterprises to define and execute projects in an automated and collaborative fashion. Buyers and suppliers can access project activities and tasks in one central location and have complete transparency into joint initiatives, such as regulatory reporting, maintaining consumer product safety certificates, and policy and procedure updates. Users can establish automated workflows and set reminders for tasks’ due dates.

» Supplier Information Management – Beyond the basic supplier directory, an SNM solution can store and manage all relevant supplier materials, documentation, and credentials. Buyers can search through all documents obtained from supplier communication (tax forms, questionnaires, etc.) and store and access sustainability scorecards, attachments, qualification results, certificates, and risk assessments. This portfolio-level view of supplier relationships enables buyers to determine the right mix of suppliers to best serve their specific business needs.

» Supplier Risk Management – Monitoring supplier risk prior to and throughout business relationships is very important for buying organizations today, as is validating that all new business partners are valid legal entities. SNM solutions offer many tools to simplify risk assessment and supplier validation, often with native document management and risk assessment questionnaires in addition to third-party risk assessment services. Many SNM
solutions also streamline the supplier qualification process to ensure that buyers are working with valid suppliers from the very beginning.

» Performance Benchmarking – A benchmarking functionality in SNM solutions allows enterprises to evaluate supplier performance against other best-in-class suppliers in their network, or to compare a supplier’s performance in the network to specific key performance indicators (KPIs).

» Built-In Alerts – Some SNM solutions provide timely notifications of declining supplier performance, and predictive analysis tools anticipate supplier problems with sophisticated modeling, analytics, and prediction. These alerts can also be connected to supplier information management, notifying buying organizations of expiring contracts, credentials, certificates, and other business- critical supplier materials.

» Supplier Help Desk – A common practice for supplier dispute resolution is to assign supplier queries to a team of supplier management, procurement, and AP staff. However, these professionals often spend a great amount of time taking calls for simple issues that the suppliers could resolve themselves, and staff miss more important problems. A supplier’s ability to check on invoice and payment statuses via an SNM platform greatly reduces supplier inquiries, as do help-desk support features like online ticketing systems for supplier queries. By moving dispute resolution from the phone to the portal, and by giving suppliers the chance to solve their own problems, buyer-side staff can spend
more time on high-priority issues.

» Supplier Discovery – Many integrated supplier networks have thousands of registered suppliers in their database. When a new client signs on to the network, they gain access to all existing registered suppliers. SNM solutions provide advanced search capabilities that allow buying organizations to find suppliers that fit their business needs, and to send out customized invitations for connection. This is especially useful for new projects or sourcing events.

Supplier Resistance and Buyer Failure

The benefits of SNM solutions are plentiful for buying organizations; the technology reduces costs and time spent on low-value tasks, increases control over supplier performance and data management, and strengthens an organization’s compliance. In addition, SNM solutions’ value-added services greatly improve the operations of the supplier companies, often at no expense to those suppliers. However, despite all the benefits of SNM software, few organizations are using it. According to PayStream Advisors’ survey results, 92 percent of organizations are not employing an SNM solution, see Figure 3.

Figure 3: Few Organizations Use SNM Software
“Does your company currently use a Supplier Network Management solution?”

Why aren’t more organizations adopting SNM software? PayStream has found that organizations’ reluctance to adopt is nothing new—it is also a prevalent trend for other B2B technologies, including eInvoicing and electronic payments solutions. Buyers fear that suppliers will not participate in adoption initiatives once they are implemented, which would greatly reduce the solution’s business value and the company’s ROI. Buying organizations are concerned they will lose time and money on a long implementation project and be left with a tool their business partners will not use, rather than seeing increased efficiency and savings.

Not all of these fears are unfounded. Historically, suppliers have been reluctant to join B2B and supplier networks because of their belief that the gains would not outweigh the expenses of supplier network fees, training time, and complicated registration requirements. In general, many suppliers did not perceive that the advantage of an online network was any better than their current methods.

Fortunately, over the last several years, B2B networks and supplier portals have adapted to fit the current needs of both buyers and suppliers, and solution providers have removed many adoption barriers. Now, few networks charge suppliers a fee to participate, and if
they do, the fees are typically very low. The technology itself is so simple that very little—if any—training is required. Many solution providers have made registration and onboarding so simple and effortless that suppliers see little reason not to comply. In addition, the new wave of SNM solutions offers many more value-added services than early B2B networks and supplier portals, making network adoption a beneficial and strategic decision for suppliers.

In light of these changes in the technology space, the greatest current barrier to buyer and supplier adoption of B2B/integrated supplier networks and SNM software is a lack of education among suppliers and buyers. Many suppliers are unaware of the improvements in
participation (little to no joining fees, simpler registration requirements)
or the benefits offered to them (value-added tools and services). In turn, many buyers do not know of these benefits either, and if they do, they do not know how to combat the prevailing misconceptions among their suppliers that complicate network and software adoption.

It is important to note that although very few organizations surveyed have actually adopted an SNM solution, the 8 percent of organizations that do use the technology all reported that they experienced improved supplier relationships after implementation. Despite the difficulties of gaining adoption from suppliers, there are methods of overcoming these barriers—and they are well worth the effort.

Gaining Supplier Participation

The way to ensure supplier adoption and increase success with an SNM solution is through versatility, strategy, and cooperation with an SNM solution provider. PayStream attributes SNM supplier adoption to three main factors: the value of participation to suppliers, the ease of connectivity, and the provider’s service offerings. In order to select a solution that addresses these considerations, organizations should consider SNM solution providers that:

Onboard Aggressively

Many SNM solution providers have dedicated onboarding teams to help buyers engage and register their suppliers to an integrated supplier network and SNM solution. These onboarding services provide suppliers with the connection options and personalized attention necessary to quickly get them up and running on the network so they can receive orders, submit invoices directly to a buyer’s AP system, check payment status, and collaborate effectively.

There a variety of onboarding strategies available, and solution providers are regularly coming up with new innovative ways to reach out to suppliers. One new method of onboarding is automated supplier registration. The majority of SNM solutions available today include self-registration options for new suppliers, which allows them to build an online visual resume or profile of their company’s capabilities and product offerings. This supplier registration can be completed under the control of an automated workflow process configured by the buying organization for multi-party approvals and notifications.

Teams of onboarding specialists often run large-scale onboarding campaigns for their new clients, personally reaching out to suppliers through phone, email, and mail with invitations to join the network. These teams may also help the buying organization create invitation templates for its own outreach campaigns, as well as configure registration landing pages on the organization’s company website.

Onboard Strategically

For any organization, it is important that buyers extend their onboarding focus beyond just their top suppliers. While top suppliers represent a large portion of a buyer’s spend dollars, they account for a mere fraction of total transactions. The more suppliers a buyer can connect with via the supplier network, the greater a buyer’s opportunity to eliminate inefficient paper-based processes, free up staff for high value tasks, and reduce transaction costs. Organizations should choose a solution provider that understands how to segment suppliers strategically, and how to use different onboarding methods for different types and segments of suppliers.

Figure 4: Strategic Supplier Onboarding

Reach Suppliers Where They Are

Suppliers often fear the time and effort that registering for a network might cost them, and therefore avoid any involvement altogether. In these cases, gaining partial participation is better than no participation at all, and solution providers have developed strategies that comply with this philosophy. Semi-soft registration requirements may take
the form of external interaction with the main system, such as viewing and accepting POs through emails only. With limited registration also comes limited access, and these suppliers often usually recognize what they are missing out on, eventually registering in full with the network in order to gain more value-added services.

Offer Suppliers Long-Term Value

Organizations should also look beyond the onboarding strategies of potential solution providers; they should explore how the provider enhances suppliers’ experiences during the entire lifecycle of a business relationship. Organizations should identify the provider’s
value-added services and make sure their suppliers are aware of these offerings as they onboard. This means communicating clearly and proactively to suppliers about what they seek to gain from participation in a solution, and how the tools will enhance their own business operations in the long run.

Conclusion

Many organizations employ basic B2B and integrated supplier networks with the goal of increasing transaction processing speeds, reducing paper and costs, and simplifying interaction with suppliers. However, if a network does not have a strong supplier focus and many value-added services, buyer businesses miss out on true B2B efficiency. An organization should choose to adopt a network with a robust set
of SNM offerings, or they should leverage a standalone SNM solution to enhance their existing internal systems. In order to help readers identify the right advanced SNM technology for their organization, the following profiles summarize the offerings of some of the leading SNM software providers in the market today.

Cortex

Cortex is an ERP- and workflow-agnostic B2B network that allows suppliers to connect and interact with buyers, and as a result, grow their businesses. Cortex grants clients with complex procurement processes the ability to connect their existing accounting and supply chain software to the Cortex network. These clients gain electronic invoicing capability, more efficient B2B communication, and a reduction in manual routing and document processing times.

Founded	1999
Headquarters	Calgary, AB
Other Locations	Satellite Staff located in Houston
Number of Employees	85 +/-
Number of Customers	10,000+
Target Verticals	Energy, Mining, Construction (Service-Based Companies), and Sports & Entertainment
Partners/Resellers	Powervison, Pandell, Vendorin, Full Circle (DocVue)
Awards / Recognitions	2014 Profit 500 Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies

Solution Functionality

Cortex’s agnostic platform offers multiple connectivity options that do not require direct integration with customers’ ERP or legacy systems. Cortex Network can send or receive documents via several different delivery methods, including Axon (a proprietary solution) RosettaNet, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and various web services (RESTful
& SOAP). It is also cXML and PIDX compliant, which allows users to send and receive documents to a trading partner or workflow partner that is already integrated with their ERP or legacy system. Cortex’s network currently hosts over 10,000 registered users and more than 8,800 active suppliers in any given month.

Cortex validates the identity of every new trading partner (buyer or supplier) prior to confirming their registration with the network. New customers on the network are issued a unique username (based on their company email address) and password, which is
authenticated using an Active Directory system that manages users and user credentials. To ensure secure and safe connections, any communication between the trading partner’s system and the Cortex infrastructure uses HTTPS with RC4 128-bit encrypted SSL.

Supplier Recruitment and Onboarding

Cortex provides migration services to help buying organizations onboard their existing suppliers, and also enables them to connect to new suppliers. Buyers have access to self-service research and communication tools that allow them to find new trading partners by location, service, and industry, or to send connection requests to their suppliers that are already on the Cortex network.

Cortex works with buyers to develop unique onboarding plans and campaigns that enable the buyer to their desired automation level, and plans that fit the needs of their supplier base. One customization option is enabling a supplier or vendor relations page on the buyer’s website with information on the Cortex partnership, the phone and email contact, and links to the Cortex network sign-up page. Cortex can also assist buyers with email or physical letter campaigns and run outbound phone campaigns.

During online sign up, suppliers can complete pre-populated registration forms, and choose a participation plan that suits them best. After registration, suppliers have access to self-service training, online webinar training, and profile management tools. As part of
a standard account, suppliers receive a “buyer-side” view in their dashboard; this allows them to create users on the AR side of their business, connect to their own suppliers (as well as other buyers), and receive invoices through Cortex.

Supplier Enablement

Cortex offers several different AP and AR capabilities for suppliers in the form of PO, field ticketing, and eInvoicing. In addition, Cortex provides users with an electronic payments capability through a partnership with Vendorin.

Cortex assists in managing documents from POs and field tickets to invoice and payment acknowledgement. Suppliers can submit invoices to buyers and all documents undergo validation and approval. The buyer then reviews the documents and confirms that the information is correct. If an invoice is rejected, the supplier is notified and is required to make corrections prior to resubmitting the document for approval. Throughout this process, the supplier can view the invoice’s status as it moves through the buyer’s workflow.

Cortex offers self-service features that include dashboards, partner messaging, user administration, profile management, and online help desks. The Cortex dashboard gives all users access to invoice statuses, available and new connections on the network, and reporting tools. Trading partners can also upload a rate sheet to simplify the creation of Invoice documents, as well as rate schedules or pricing agreements.
Cortex will validate all key updated information before it is made public on the network.

Supplier Control

Cortex provides credential management through the Cortex Client Enablement Team, which validates a supplier’s identity prior to provisioning their account. This is accomplished in Canada using GST numbers and in the USA using W9 (tax forms). Additionally, Cortex uses an active directory system to manage users and user credentials on the network.

Reporting and Analytics

Cortex provides several configurable out-of-box reports on various B2B metrics, including invoice cycle time, top suppliers, monthly transactions, and discounts offered. The solutions also offer spend heat maps and transaction history reporting. Reports have drill-down capability, feature graphical representations, and can be exported for further analysis. Cortex stores all entered and received data for six months, and this information is available to the end user through the Cortex’s reporting mechanism.

Implementation and Pricing

The average implementation timeframe is between 27 and 60 days. The length of the process often depends on the type of integration and the engagement level of the customer.
Full training and support is available to all direct and indirect customers of the Cortex system during the onboarding process. Training materials and webinars are always accessible after implementation, allowing users to use or attend them as needed.

After integration, Cortex closely monitors the client’s connection to ensure that everything is working as expected and any issues are handled. Once this watch period is over, standard support is available via phone, email, and messaging. The support team is available Monday through Friday from 6 am to 6 pm MT. Support is supplemented by the self-service training materials available via the network portal and on the Cortex website, as well as by a variety of regularly offered webinars and targeted, one-on-one walkthroughs with a training specialist.

The Cortex pricing model is a tiered system that offers volume discounts based on the number of transactions a customer conducts through the Network each month. This simplified model charges a monthly access fee, along with a per-document charge that decreases as volume increases, ensuring that appropriate pricing models are available for businesses of any size. In addition to the standard transactional pricing model, Cortex offers professional services to customers at an hourly rate.

Coupa

Founded in 2006, Coupa Software is a leading provider of cloud-based financial process solutions. Coupa’s suite of financial applications allows users to manage a wide range of financial processes, including AP and eInvoicing, procurement, expenses, and sourcing—all within a single platform. Coupa streamlines communication between buyers and suppliers with solutions that support every currency, include over 20 languages, and are used by over 500 customers in more than 100 countries. Organizations can collaborate with their suppliers
through the Coupa Open Business Network, a platform that charges no transaction fees for suppliers and offers them “no-registration- required” options. The Coupa Open Business Network provides businesses with a model that is accessible to suppliers of all sizes, and
it allows all parties to stay compliant with government mandates.

Founded	2006
Headquarters	San Mateo, CA
Other Locations	London, Dublin, Paris, Sydney
Number of Employees	450+
Number of Customers	500+
Target Verticals	Financial, Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Retail, High Tech
Partners/Resellers	Accenture, IBM, KPMG, Deloitte
Awards / Recognitions	Leader Forrester Wave, eProcurement, Q2 2014; Leader Gartner Magic Quadrant for P2P Suites for Indirect Procurement; Named 2015 OnFinance Top 100 Private Companies; Named Inc. 500 America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Solution Fuctionality

Coupa is a fully cloud-based SaaS application. The Coupa spend management suite is mobile-capable, and works on any device via responsive web design and native apps for iOS and Android (including Apple Watch). Coupa provides pre-built integrations for NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics GP, SAP, and Oracle, and the system’s REST API model provides integration options for other ERP and third-party systems. All system configuration is done through a user interface with no consulting or IT necessary. As part of its solution subscription service, Coupa provides two to three major product releases a year.

The Coupa Open Business Network is composed of over 1.7 million suppliers from across all industries and sizes. The supplier portal user interface is simple to navigate and requires little to no training for suppliers to manage transactions. Suppliers do not have to sign contracts or pay any fees to participate.

Coupa’s supplier portal is an integral component of Coupa’s Spend Optimization platform, which supports Source-to-Settle processes. Through the Open Business Network, suppliers have the ability to interact with procurement, (including order acknowledgements and catalog management), electronic invoicing, dynamic discounting, and payments support. Coupa also allows suppliers to participate in sourcing events with response, chat, and collaboration capabilities.

Supplier Recruitment and Onboarding

For supplier discovery, buying organizations can search through all existing public purchasing information in the Coupa system and the Coupa Supplier Network directory. Coupa also partners with Alibaba. com, a leader in cross-border wholesale trade. This partnership provides Coupa customers with access to millions of additional global suppliers from Alibaba.com.

Coupa employs enablement experts that help an organization determine the best way to work with its suppliers. In some cases, the enablement team can help a company onboard all their suppliers, contacting each of them to explain the options available to them and the benefits of transacting online. In other cases, the team will contact
a subset of suppliers and train an organization’s internal teams on how best to engage with other suppliers.

In order to enhance B2B interaction with more of an organization’s suppliers, Coupa does not force suppliers to communicate with buyers via the Coupa Supplier Network. Instead, suppliers can use Coupa Supplier Actionable Notifications to receive and acknowledge POs, submit invoices, and receive status updates via email—all without having to register or sign in to the network.

For those suppliers without PO-backed activity, Coupa provides a pre-configured process flow for onboarding the supplier to the portal. Suppliers receive a notification email with an associated URL for creating and updating profiles, as well as an access link to edit and
submit a profile for review. Suppliers are kept informed of the approval
status of their profile, and they receive online and email notifications
for any information that requires updates.

Coupa customers using Supplier Information Management (available in January 2016) have the ability to configure their own supplier information management form. Organizations can ask specific suppliers to fill out special fields in a registration application, or
to include specific attachments, forms, or certificates. This data is then subject to a review/approval/completion process before being synchronized with the main system. Coupa makes the supplier information form a part of the purchase order and invoicing process flow so that AP staff does not have to hound suppliers for information.

Supplier Enablement

Coupa’s Open Business Network gives organizations flexibility in working with suppliers. Suppliers can use the portal to submit inquires and issues, view real-time status and details for all POs and invoices, and receive payments faster. The portal accepts any file format, including cXML, EDI, Flat File, and PIDX, and there are self-service entry fields for paper invoices. Suppliers can create PO-backed invoices, contract-backed invoices, and non-PO invoices. They can also use the portal to load and manage catalogs, manage their profile information, and collaborate with buyers through a messaging tool. Coupa does not
charge suppliers any fees for supplier enablement, catalog enablement, punch-outs, cXML/EDI ordering, or cXML/EDI invoicing.

Coupa’s Coupa Advantage program contains special, pre-negotiated content for suppliers. These contracts are accessible to all Coupa customers, but are especially suitable for growing companies that do not have formal sourcing programs and large organizations that do not have the resources to cover non-strategic categories. Negotiated contracts include common spend categories such as office supplies, printing, floral services, and mobile phones. Coupa Advantage also provides in-house resources for managing contracts, as well as the supplier enablement program.

Supplier Control

Coupa partners with IBM SLM for advanced supplier risk and compliance management programs. Coupa also provides a framework for basic supplier performance assessments, including order acknowledgements, late deliveries, over-invoicing, a questionnaire routed to requesters rating the supplier’s performance, and other analytics. Coupa’s product roadmap supports a three release per year model with over 100 new features added annually.

 

Reporting and Analytics

Coupa provides over 100 pre-built reports that can be generated through an intuitive web interface, and users can build their own custom views and self-schedule reports that are automatically emailed. Reporting dashboards can be set up for different business levels, featuring real-time graphical views that provide critical insights into spending management performance, supplier performance, liquidity, and other areas.

Implementation and Pricing

The typical timeline for a Coupa implementation varies, but deployments range from 3 to 6 months. Customers can choose online and/or in-person training, and receive training specifically for administrators. Coupa’s service charges include a one-time
implementation fee and annual subscription fees that cover all hosting, hardware, software, support, maintenance, and upgrade costs.
After implementation and training, Coupa offers frequent Best Practice webinars that gives customers the opportunity to interact with each other and discuss topics relevant to their business. Coupa provides different customer support packages available through phone, email, and the Coupa support portal. Coupa has also developed a Customer Success program, which entails working with clients to define and continually measure long-term success goals.

 

GEP

GEP is a procurement technology developer with over 15 years of experience in deploying Source-to-Settle solutions. With its Source-to- Settle platform, SMART by GEP®, GEP has made it possible for all tasks in S2S and P2P processes to be carried out in one system and from any device. The SMART by GEP platform also provides buyers with access to their own network of suppliers, and enables stronger B2B relationships with robust supplier self-service tools. Each component of the GEP platform can easily integrate with clients’ existing systems and/or can be deployed as standalone systems.

Founded	1999
Headquarters	Clark, New Jersey
Other Locations	London, Prague, Mumbai, Shanghai
Number of Employees	1400
Number of Customers	180
Target Verticals	All
Awards/ Recognitions	Top supplier, 2015 EPIC Procurement Excellence Awards; HfS Blueprint, Winner’s Circle; Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, Top 100; Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix for Procurement, Star Performer

Solution Functionality

SMART by GEP is a highly secure, cloud-based procurement platform hosted on the Microsoft Azure Cloud. All of GEP’s development,
data handling, and operational facilities and systems are certified to SSAE16 standards. In addition, GEP uses a web-based methodology to integrate with its customers’ third-party systems. The solution is mobile-enabled and works on any browser and platform.

Supplier Recruitment and Onboarding

GEP Nexus is a global supplier directory available to SMART by GEP users for supplier discovery. By leveraging GEP Nexus, buyers can invite new suppliers to participate in sourcing events, questionnaires, preliminary discussions, and pre-registration activities. Supplier onboarding is managed by GEP for the buying organization. GEP uses a phased approach to examine the customer’s current supplier landscape, segmenting out high transaction-rate suppliers and suppliers of high strategic value before moving on to the rest of the supplier base. The buying organization can reach out to suppliers on its own, or GEP can run supplier onboarding campaigns on behalf of the customer.
Supplier registration management is tailored to each buying organization. The levels of registration required of the supplier vary depending on the task in which the supplier is participating, such as for a simple sourcing event, or a more complex EDI integration. SMART by GEP enables the customer to customize registration forms and other required materials to ensure that suppliers are providing the correct information and credentials

Supplier Enablement

SMART by GEP gives suppliers access to the platform’s entire Source- to-Settle offerings and capabilities. The SMART by GEP supplier portal allows suppliers to manage procurement catalog information, provide responses to sourcing questionnaires and RFxs, participate in
sourcing events, collaborate on contracts, and manage order-to-invoice processes. The portal supports buyer and supplier communication through these processes with structured RFx responses, contract redlining and negotiation capabilities, and chat messaging during live
auctions.

SMART by GEP natively accepts supplier-originated invoices through the SMART by GEP portal. In addition, supplier systems can be integrated with SMART by GEP for the purpose of order or invoice transmission using EDI and/or cXML standards. For customers working to convert their paper invoices to electronic invoice formats, GEP first identifies, targets, and onboards those suppliers that send the largest volumes of paper invoices.
SMART by GEP provides a full range of invoice and order reconciliation features that facilitate the rapid resolution of invoice exceptions. Built- in controls and 2-, 3-, and 4- way matching rules ensure that invoices are not submitted outside of tolerances permitted by the buyer. In cases where this occurs, the buyer can initiate change-invoice, change- order, and other resolution workflows. Suppliers have the ability to comment on and correct invoices through the supplier portal. SMART by GEP also offers Dynamic Discounting functionality, which allows the buyer to offer early payment against an invoice in return for a spot
discount.

SMART by GEP offers suppliers a set of robust supplier self-service and B2B collaboration tools, such as profile management, certificate management, collaboration on IT security, and safety standard compliance. Suppliers can also engage in credentials management and relationship management, which includes performance score-carding.

The GEP roadmap includes the future capability for a supplier to service multiple buying organizations through a single account in the same way that a buyer can deal with multiple suppliers. GEP will also soon offer Advanced Dynamic Discounting beyond current capabilities, including cash flow management, predictive invoice payment, and automated benefit analysis.

Supplier Control

SMART by GEP’s supplier management solution is adaptable to any compliance requirements. Organizations can integrate their specific policies and regulatory models into the platform’s architecture by creating forms and performance scorecards for acquiring specific validation documents and certifications. Users and key stakeholders are notified of upcoming expiration dates and terms requirements. Buyers can request information from suppliers through outreaches that can be deployed regionally, by category, or by business unit, and to any number of suppliers. The buying organization can also set up controls around how a supplier updates their information, ensuring that vendor information, catalogs, certificates, and all other data is maintained according to the buying organization’s rules.

The SMART by GEP supplier management process permits logic- based information gathering to increase compliance. For example, if a supplier answers in the affirmative to a question concerning a regulated practice during registration, they can be automatically
required to complete a declaration form and provide the necessary documentation. In addition, the buying organization can evaluate and rate suppliers’ risk according to pre-configured supplier risk factors (e.g., financial stability, criticality of supply, environmental impact). The platform is also open to the integration of supplier risk data from third- party sources.

 

Reporting and Analytics

SMART by GEP is built upon a data warehouse model for reporting and dashboards, providing the end user with access to all data across the procurement landscape. Its reporting services include dashboards and drag-and-drop ad-hoc reporting that allows users to create reports based on any parameter captured within the system. By applying available filters for each metadata element, reports can be created and added to the dashboard, viewed in graphical format, exported in multiple file formats, and scheduled at a desired frequency. The SMART by GEP platform supports customization of dashboard views to accommodate individual user requirements.

Implementation and Pricing

Implementation of SMART by GEP entails configuration of the tool to the client’s business processes and robust customer support to drive end-user adoption. During the implementation and pre-production phases, GEP provides detailed training divided into three parts: system overview training, screen navigation, and functionality training. These trainings are offered both onsite and remotely via web conferences. After implementation, GEP provides phone and web-based support. GEP’s global customer support staff is based out of three regions (US, Europe, and APAC) and is available 24/5.

SMART by GEP is an annual subscription-based service priced on a function-by-function basis, largely according to the number of users of each function for each year of the contract. The different components taken into account for pricing include number and type of users, interface languages, contract and template configuration requirement, and support services.

 

OpenText

Founded in 1991 in Canada, OpenText offers a range of solutions for secure global B2B processes. OpenText simplifies supplier management with fully-configurable supplier self-service portals in OpenText Active Community. Active Community creates private supplier communities that are managed by the buyer. OpenText also offers a suite of P2P applications, which include OpenText B2B Managed Services, OpenText Active Orders, OpenText Active Invoices with Compliance, and OpenText Vendor Invoice Management (VIM) for SAP Solutions.

Founded	1991
Headquarters	Waterloo, Ontario
Other Locations	Gaithersburg, MD
Number of Employees	8500
Number of Customers	100,000
Target Verticals	Manufacturing, Retail, Financial Services, Insurance, Public Sector, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Energy, Utilities, Media and Entertainment, Legal, Engineering and Construction
Partners/Resellers	SAP, Oracle, Deloitte, Accenture
Awards/Recognitions	“Leader” in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Integration Brokerage, April 2014

Solution Functionality

OpenText Active Community can be integrated with a customer’s back- end ERP (Oracle, SAP, etc.) for an end-to-end supplier management solution. There are currently approximately 122,700 supplier records across all Active Community customers, and the network currently connects with over 550,000 companies. Industries served include pharmaceutical, CPG, retail, manufacturing, telecom, and financial.

All OpenText products are built on a cloud-based integration platform called the OpenText Trading Grid™, which provides all the necessary integration technology needed to connect to business partners. OpenText solutions incorporate multiple levels of security, authorization, and authentication at user, data, and application module levels to restrict access to appropriately credentialed users.

OpenText provides customer support in multiple languages, including English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

Supplier Recruitment and Onboarding

Suppliers are usually onboarded through self-registration; they are emailed an invitation code that links them to predetermined services and entitlements. Once suppliers are registered and have portal credentials, they will only have access to the services included in their invitation, and they can self-administer their account from there. In cases with expanded validation requirements, the additional solution components can be directly imported or configured in the portal by OpenText personnel.

Active Community provides configurable, approval-based workflows to vet suppliers prior to supplier enablement. Multiple options for introducing suppliers to the workflow include public requests via a link, controlled requests restricted by IP, manual requests via UI, or import. Customers can use the onboarding module as a standalone business process for feeding a private supplier directory into Active Community, or they can integrate with the main portal, OpenText Trading Grid Online, for provisioning at the solution level (with OpenText Active Orders and Intelligent Web Forms). All new and existing supplier data is imported into a private, customer-controlled supplier directory.

Onboarding times and methods depend on how the customers creates supplier records, whether or not registration is required, and whether or not provisioning for enablement is needed. Depending on the customer’s business processes, Active Community customers can register a supplier in less than 5 minutes, while some provisioning requirements may require several days.

Supplier Enablement

Active Community offers self-service features for customers and their trading partners. Supplier features are focused on data entry (customized profile management) for whichever permissions the customer chooses to give them.

OpenText also provides a buyer Purchase-to-Pay solution and a supplier order-to-remittance solution, via the Active Orders and Active Invoices with Compliance. Active Community can be integrated with these applications, giving suppliers access to an OpenText supplier portal which offers buyer and supplier communication tools such as order tracking and acknowledgement, logistics track and trace, and invoice submission, all with shared status and data views and shared event management.

The Projects module in Active Community allows customers to send targeted messages to their trading partner community and to create surveys or questionnaires. Customers can also use dashboards to obtain real-time updates on projects. OpenText facilitates buyer-to- supplier negotiation through a workspace module.

For business process issues outside of the portal, Active Community customers can manually create issues (via UI or import) in the issue management module. For issues related directly to the portal, support is facilitated by OpenText Cloud Support Services. Upcoming improvements in Active Community include profile enrichment, dashboards/scorecards, analytics, and integration with other OpenText B2B Integration solutions.

OpenText also offers the Active Catalogue solution, which is a product data synchronization application specifically tailored to the retail industry. It allows marketers, manufacturers, and suppliers to share their latest product information with retailers, such as price, style, color, size, and more than 600 product attributes and images. Active Catalogue offers a complete solution for item setup and synchronization, supporting the latest GS1 System global standards and initiatives so that companies can move forward with confidence when they are ready.

Supplier Control

For maintaining supplier compliance, OpenText configures information templates in the supplier portal tailored to customer policies and regulations. In addition, Active Community provides custom reporting (real-time and scheduled), alerting, and field-based change
management features to help customers assess and manage risk in their trading partner communities.

Reporting and Analytics

OpenText’s solution currently offers several standard reports, with a feature that allows users to create a custom PDF format for reports. Orders also delivers business analytics with key indicators of supplier performance, allowing date-range searches through the data and detailed drill-down capabilities.

 

Implementation and Pricing

Average implementation for the OpenText Active Community solution is 6 to 12 weeks. Factors that impact the implementation timeline include client-side changes and internal process issues, supplier list cleansing, and project complexity.
OpenText typically conducts between one and three customer internal training sessions for Active Community users. Supplier training is then conducted by the customer, as needed. Customers have the option to purchase additional support post-implementation to manage changes or issues; otherwise, the standard 24×7 customer support is available.
OpenText Active Community pricing includes an up-front implementation cost and a monthly subscription fee.