Reaping the Value of Value Engineers

by Michelle Armstrong, TYS Global VP of Value Solutions Consultant

In the fast-evolving landscape of technology, Value Engineers have emerged as pivotal influencers. Their primary role is to bridge the gap between the intricacies of the technological world and the practicalities of business operations, facilitating the seamless integration of technology systems with business strategies. This unassuming but significant community of professionals, with their knack for continuous collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving skills, have etched an indelible mark on many businesses, becoming our unsung heroes behind flourishing organizations during digital transformation. 

What is Value Engineering? 

Value engineering (VE), sometimes known as value analysis, represents a structured approach targeting the optimization of cost and functionality for products, processes, or systems. It’s a process that stimulates the elimination of excessive costs at various project stages while ensuring that quality and performance remain unaffected. 

Who are Value Engineers? 

Value Engineers are the remarkable, often unheralded, champions working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure maximum value is derived from technological products and systems. They are responsible for evaluating, identifying, and optimizing any process, successfully bridging the gap between technological innovation and organizational needs. Our technological world is shaped daily by these architects of innovation. 

Value Engineers bring countless benefits to organizations: 

  1. They’re Problem Solvers: They understand the complexities of systems, troubleshoot effectively to ensure their smooth operation and drive maximum value from them.
  2. They’re Insightful Strategists: Leveraging their profound understanding of technology and business interface, they formulate and execute successful strategies to boost productivity, reduce duplicated efforts, and foster the holistic evolution of organizations.
  3. They’re Visionaries: With a futuristic perspective, value engineers ensure that every technological endeavor aligns with the strategic goals and objectives of the company.
  4. They’re Collaborators: They streamline communication between diverse departments encouraging a culture of collaboration that respects the interrelationships of business operations.
  5. They’re Risk Mitigators: With a keen eye for potential vulnerabilities, they proactively implement safeguards, constantly refining processes and protocols to ensure a sturdy infrastructure that minimizes unforeseen challenges and secures the organization’s assets.
  6. They’re Efficiency Experts: Through constant process evaluation, value engineers significantly reduce unnecessary expenditures, increasing overall profitability and effectiveness. 

The Catalyst for Unconventional Thinking 

Incorporating diverse team members in value engineering is no longer optional – it’s essential. A diverse team kindles new viewpoints, propelling unconventional thinking that challenges the status quo. According to a 2019 report by McKinsey & Company, companies with the most culturally and ethnically diverse executive teams were 36% more likely to see above-average profits, a testimony to the transformative power of diversity. 

This critical observation underscores the immense transformative power of diversity. It is not merely a token or a tick mark on the corporate social responsibility agenda but a powerful tool that can shape organizational culture, drive business growth, and define industry trends. 

When a team is composed of individuals who perceive the world through varying lenses, it can engender unconventional thinking — the kind of thinking that routinely questions the status quo, doesn’t fear to tread the thin line between seemingly impossible and possible, and continually strives for betterment. This unconventional thinking often evolves into ingenious solutions, opening avenues of progress that were previously unseen or unthought of. 

Celebrating the Technical Experts and Visionary Leaders 

The value of value engineers cannot be underestimated. Their immense contribution is at the very heart of technological advancements. Their innovative and analytical minds bring a balance between cost-effectiveness, functional performance, and resource efficiency, significantly impacting the overall success of a project. We celebrate their resilience, innovation, and leadership, and remind every value engineer that their output is revered, appreciated, and always integral to our progressive march towards a technology-driven future. 

Incorporating the principles of value engineering can help you achieve the ideal balance between maximizing value and minimizing costs, leading to sustained success in the industry. 

As we help redefine the tech landscape, remember to embrace and elevate the guardians of technology – our value engineers. Let’s celebrate their accomplishments and acknowledge their expertise and vision, for they are the unseen champions writing the narrative of our technological advancement, one improvement at a time. 

#ValueEngineers, #TechnologyInnovators, #BusinessStrategists, #DigitalTransformation, #UnconventionalThinking, #RiskMitigators, #TrustYourSupplier, #EfficiencyExperts, #ValueEngineering, #TechVisionaries, #ProblemSolvers, #OrganizationalGrowth, #ProcessOptimization 

The Evolution of Supplier Management (Part 1)

Successfully Addressing Today’s Needs While Preparing for Tomorrow’s Challenges

by Gary Storr, General Manager

“How do we overlay today’s needs with tomorrow’s needs and build a bridge that organizations can invest in today and be ready for tomorrow?”

During a recent interview, I gave the above response to the question “Where is supplier management technology now, and what it will look like in the future?” It is seemingly a straightforward question. But underlying its simplicity is the complexity of building and proactively managing dynamic and interconnected supply networks in a volatile global marketplace.

Now one might think that as a solution provider, my focus would be on the technology part of the equation. Even though emerging AI technology is the main event when it comes to supplier management, you must look beyond it to the experience and expertise behind it.

Think about it for a moment. ESG investing began in the 1960s as “socially responsible investing, with investors excluding stocks or entire industries from their portfolios.” The industries on the no-investment list included tobacco companies and any businesses deemed to be supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Now ponder this fact – ESG reporting did not begin until 2004 under the UN “Who Cares Wins” banner. Here we are in 2023, and it is only recently that things like carbon emissions, ESG, and global compliance have become emerging mainstream regulatory concerns.

The above “timeline” raises two essential questions:

  • Why are companies now scrambling to comply with new legislative requirements and proposed future ones when we saw this train coming as far back as the 1960s?
  • Regarding future regulations, e.g., ESG, what will the reporting (and technology) requirements be next year or decade? By the way, if you want a glimpse into what is on the compliance horizon, check out the following ESG Regulations link.

From my standpoint and experience, we need to do two things so that we don’t continue to play catch-up with known and unknown compliance realities. In today’s post, I will tell you the two things you need to do to stop chasing compliance and start mastering (and benefiting) from it.

First, A History Timeline Review

 

Regarding the evolution of supplier management platforms, the old saying “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” tells a notable story.

In the above graphic, you will note how we have progressed from a “blind trust” qualification process to where we are today – somewhere between email and spreadsheets and corporate web portals.

As your service provider, you will be happy to know that we are on the leading edge of the emerging standard: enterprise supplier networks. I will get into what this emerging standard is shortly.

That said, we have also created an overlay between today’s and tomorrow’s supplier management needs. Why is this important?

It is important because instead of implementing technology to catch up with emerging requirements, we are also creating a seamless bridge to put you out front of the proverbial curve to address not yet known future requirements. If you think about it, this will be the first time that your AI technology capability will – through supplier digital identity, put your organization ahead of future industry demands. 

The Here And Now

In Part 2 of this series, I will get into the specifics of supplier digital identity. However, we can’t take our eyes off the immediate challenges you face in managing your present-day supplier network, including the importance of:

  • Reliable supplier data
  • Digital supplier discovery
  • Minimized administration
  • 3rd party verifications

Through this immediate capability, you will meet today’s demands while laying a universally consumable digital supplier identity foundation that will create unprecedented supplier trust and a single version of the truth.

Up Next: The Evolution of Supplier Management (Part 2) – Winning The Tomorrow War, Today

FAQ: How do questionnaires play a role in supplier compliance & risk management?

Frequently Asked Question: How do questionnaires play a role in supplier compliance & risk management?

Questionnaires are a vital component of supplier compliance and risk management. At Trust Your Supplier (TYS), we leverage a range of questionnaire features to ensure comprehensive and efficient supplier evaluations. Here’s how our questionnaires contribute to effective supplier management:

  1. Standardized: TYS collaborates with a consortium of major buying organizations to develop and maintain standardized questionnaires applicable across various industries. These questionnaires are regularly updated to reflect new requirements and regulations, reducing the number of questions suppliers need to answer while ensuring thorough compliance checks.
  2. Custom: Recognizing that organizations may have unique regional and global risk management needs, TYS offers custom questionnaires. These cater to specific regulatory requirements that may not be covered by standardized questionnaires, providing tailored solutions for unique compliance challenges.
  3. Questionnaire Groups: TYS allows the creation of questionnaire groups, which can combine multiple questionnaires based on common requirements such as location, product, service, or other features. This grouping simplifies the process for suppliers and ensures that all relevant compliance aspects are covered efficiently.
  4. Automated: The TYS approvals workflow can be customized and automated for each questionnaire. Each supplier answer is scored based on your internal risk thresholds. Any response that doesn’t align with the preferred score is automatically flagged for further review by the appropriate team. This automation allows your team to focus on critical issues rather than reviewing every answer, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
  5. Predictive: TYS enables buyer teams to create rules that predict which questionnaires should be assigned to a particular supplier. This feature is invaluable as new compliance regulations and laws emerge globally, allowing organizations to reach more suppliers without extensive manual outreach. During onboarding, suppliers can be easily assigned to the appropriate questionnaire group, ensuring relevant risk assessments are conducted seamlessly.
  6. Internal Due Diligence: Internal Due Diligence checklists are customized by your team and used to manage tasks such as procurement reviews or additional onboarding steps outside of TYS. These internal questionnaires help teams stay synchronized and ensure all necessary internal checks are completed.

By incorporating these features, TYS ensures that questionnaires play a pivotal role in managing supplier compliance and risk. They provide a structured, efficient, and comprehensive approach to evaluating and monitoring suppliers, helping organizations maintain high standards of trust, transparency, and regulatory compliance.

Learn more about how TYS’s questionnaire features can enhance your supplier compliance and risk management with these resources:

TYS Questionnaire Features Infographic 

The “Q” Word blog post