Bridging Gaps in Collaboration & Data to Achieve Compliance

In the dynamic landscape of digital procurement, the recent DPW Amsterdam 2023 conference featured a thought-provoking panel discussion hosted by Michelle Armstrong, the Global VP of Value Solutions for Trust Your Supplier (TYS). With participants including Diarmuid O’Donoghue, Head of Digital Procurement Garage at BT Sourced, and Dr. Elouise Epstein, a Partner at Kearney, the discussion provided valuable insights into the evolving realm of procurement and the role of blockchain in its future. 

Trust Your Supplier (TYS), a patented information network built with IBM Hyperledger blockchain was designed for digital identity verification of suppliers. The platform focuses on fostering collaboration among strategic partners to enhance information reliability and reduce supply chain risks. 

Here are the discussion points and key takeaways from the session recording: 

The Value of Digital Identity
Emphasizing the significance of digital identity, Michelle highlights the growing importance of synergizing information among augmented providers. She underscores the relevance of such collaboration in the context of emerging regulations like the supply chain due diligence and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) requirements. 

Insights from Diarmuid O’Donoghue on BT Sourced
Diarmuid provides valuable insights into BT Sourced, a separate procurement entity based in Dublin, Ireland, supporting BT’s diverse needs. The organization’s mission revolves around leveraging technology for a better future, with a strong focus on diversity, digital innovation, and predictive analytics. 

The Significance of “BT Sourced”
Diarmuid explains the rationale behind the choice of “BT Sourced” as opposed to “procurement.” He highlighted how the name aligns seamlessly with their mission, incorporating both digital and human aspects. 

Dr. Eloise Epstein’s Perspective on Procurement Marketing
Dr. Elouise Epstein echoes the sentiment of rebranding procurement, emphasizing the need to move beyond jargon and make it more accessible to the broader business community. Her perspective sheds light on the importance of effective communication in fostering collaboration. 

Blockchain’s Role in Decision Making
Diarmuid emphasizes the pivotal role of blockchain in ensuring security, privacy, and traceability throughout the procurement process. He highlights how blockchain contributes to building trust and accountability, crucial elements in the decision-making process. 

Supplier Adoption and Digital Identity  
Michelle delves into the challenges of getting suppliers to adopt new strategies and digital native blockchain technologies. She acknowledges BT’s success in convincing internal teams, external suppliers, and partners to embrace the process. 

Key Takeaways

  • The importance of having a unified vision and strategy to prevent technology from overshadowing goals. 
  • BT Sourced’s ambition to become the most digitally skilled global procurement company with a focus on self-service, customer experience, and quick data access. 
  • Eloise Epstein’s critique of the complexity suppliers face in transacting with organizations and the need for simplifying supplier experience management. 
  • Diarmuid O’Donoghue’s confidence in the future of the digital wallet concept for suppliers, empowering them to control and share data. 
  • Michelle’s vision of a future where suppliers possess a portable wallet with continuously updated information on ESG, cybersecurity, and more. 

Collaboration and Challenges in Procurement
Michelle praises the trend of digital garages and highlights the importance of a unified digital identity for suppliers. Diarmuid discusses BT’s digital strategy, mentioning a recent digital week that fostered collaboration with vendors. 

Key Insights

  • The significance of collaboration within digital garages, emphasizing the need for one set of Digital Service Orchestration (DSO) standards. 
  • BT’s digital week as a platform for collaboration with vendors, generating positive energy for potential partnerships and integrations. 
  • The value of competitors and vertical industries collaborating, aligning compliance and due diligence efforts for a streamlined approach. 
  • Dr Eloise Epstein’s emphasis on upskilling people, especially in digital competency, and the encouragement to prioritize human elements alongside AI. 
  • Audience questions touching on convincing suppliers to adopt blockchain, ensuring interoperability among vendors in different industries, and the importance of open dialogue and collaboration. 

Conclusion
The DPW Amsterdam 2023 panel discussion provided a rich tapestry of insights into the evolving landscape of digital procurement. From the role of blockchain in decision-making to the challenges of supplier adoption and the importance of collaboration within digital garages, the discussion highlighted the need for a unified approach, innovative solutions, and a human-centric perspective in the ever-evolving world of procurement.  

As organizations continue to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, these insights serve as valuable guideposts for the future of procurement excellence. 

Want to learn more? Let’s talk!

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Trust Your Supplier (TYS) is a Small, Minority and Woman owned business with a global reach offering an innovative blockchain-based solution for supplier and risk management to large and mid-size enterprises. By harnessing the immutability of the blockchain, TYS ensures daily monitoring, historical, predictive, and prescriptive risk insights, enabling trusted data exchange and workflow automation beyond traditional boundaries. This distributed ledger technology fosters transparency, efficiency, and empowerment for businesses to effectively manage suppliers and mitigate risks.  

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?

How do questionnaires play a role in supplier compliance & risk management?   Trust Your Supplier (TYS) questionnaire features range from supplier self-audit forms to predictive questionnaires. 

Learn more about these and other questionnaire features with these resources: 

TYS Questionnaire Features Infographic 

The “Q” Word blog post

How To Avoid The Non-Compliance Speed Trap (What’s the Opposite of Cynical?) – Part 2

by Nick Picone, Trust Your Supplier VP of Advisory Practice

In my last post, I shared my thoughts on the coming regulatory headwinds and potential financial implications that all companies that lack efficient and effective supplier management capabilities will eventually face.

Today, I want to share insights from conversations I’ve had with leaders across the supply chain, procurement, and compliance officers at the various conferences I’ve attended with my team over the last three months.

Risk is Increasing

Nearly every discussion I had involved an extraordinary level of intellectual curiosity about what my company TYS does and what I saw in my day-to-day role as we partner with companies across the globe on their risk and compliance transformation initiatives.

I explained that nearly everyone understands they lack the comprehensive visibility across their supplier base to effectively manage risk and compliance at scale. I also shared a reasonably bold opinion that many companies I am meeting with face the increased risk of a supply chain extinction-level event due to a perfect storm across their small and middle-tier suppliers.

Some people challenged my position – which you expect – or mentioned that the level of risk I was referring to did not apply to their company which I was also willing to debate. The good news is that nearly all were interested in understanding why I thought the way I did and what I was looking at or seeing that shaped my view.

I explained that small and medium-tier suppliers are most at risk from this “perfect storm” we all face. It is especially important to recognize that these small and medium-tier suppliers could also be strategic and to understand the risk most companies face today by only focusing on their top-tier suppliers due to cost and complexity issues. In other words, companies generally have very little clarity into the situation beyond the first-tier suppliers until it’s too late.

Pre-COVID Survival

Before the pandemic and the world-changing events of the past few years, many small to medium-sized companies were practically on life support, and continued to exist because of favorable lending standards and the abnormally low cost of capital over the previous fourteen-year period. These historically low rates and easier access to credit provided a lifeline to businesses, particularly small and middle-tier suppliers who barely made it and primarily relied on regional banks to provide access to capital.

The Perfect Storm

Today, the problems we face as a society are well known. We find ourselves in a new environment; the optimal operating conditions of the past have quickly eroded and created the previously alluded to perfect storm characterized by exploding interest rates, tightening lending standards (especially across regional banks), inflation, geopolitical risk, and shortages across the supply chain. These events, taking place concurrently, are creating the most challenging financial climate – and operating environment for business – in at least fifty years. As a result, there is a dramatic increase in the risk of a significant shock to the global financial system that begins with regional banks and will ultimately impact companies and consumers.

Supporting Data

It may seem bold to suggest that many – okay, a significant portion of a company’s supply base may not be in business in 18 months. I realize that it is impossible to predict the future. Still, it is possible to see around corners, especially when you have complete visibility over your supplier base and access to instant real-time intelligence.

For example, let me share several “sobering” present-day statistics that will illustrate just how much stress your small and middle-tier suppliers are under – particularly diverse suppliers.

A record number of small businesses folded during the pandemic, and African American businesses were unfortunately “the hardest hit” with a drop of 41%, followed by a 32% decline in Latino-owned businesses.” As a point of comparison, the decrease in white-owned businesses was 17%.

Those numbers are hard to accept for some, which is understandable because they surprise many.

The Opposite of Cynical – Clarity

I understand technically, the opposite of cynicism is optimism. However, for anyone to become optimistic – which I am, by the way – I believe you need a clear line of sight to understand your current reality – where you are, where you want to go, and what you must overcome to get there.

However, you can only achieve your goals with a solid and stable supply base that includes your small and medium-tier suppliers.

The two questions you now must ask – and be able to answer, how stable and resilient is your value chain beyond your tier-one suppliers? How do you really know?

How To Avoid The Non-Compliance Speed Trap (A Cynical View) – Part 1

by Nick Picone, Trust Your Supplier VP of Advisory Practice

“Regulatory fines and penalties for non-compliance are steep. In 2018, non-compliant firms were subject to $3.945 billion in penalties and another $794 million in judgments related to SEC investigations and complaints, while FINRA imposed $61 million in fines.” – What’s the True Overall Cost of Non-Compliance?, complysci (2019)

As illustrated by the above excerpt from a 2019 article, compliance challenges were an issue even before the pandemic hit. But when you learn that there were $3.945 billion in penalties – which is a significant number, in my opinion, what does it really represent? Is it a call to action or such an incomprehensibly large figure that makes you think, “wow,” and move on to pressing “right in front of you” demands?

Let’s face it, with the pandemic, war in Ukraine, persistent inflation, and a myriad of other “challenges” that we are facing, if it doesn’t affect you directly, $3.945 billion is someone else’s problem.

Even when you break down the numbers and demonstrate how non-compliance costs firms “nearly three times the cost of being compliant,” it does little to create a sense of urgency beyond passing awareness. By the way, the actual dollar figure for non-compliance in fiscal 2017 was $14.82 million. Conversely, the estimated cost to ensure your organization was compliant with existing regulations at that time was $5.47 million.

The Lens of Inertia

Like high blood pressure, inflation, and the fact that Netflix seems to cancel great series for no apparent reason, we all know compliance is “important,” but we can’t do anything about it, can we? There are so many other, more granular things to worry about from a collective and personal standpoint.

For example, at one of the many conferences I have attended over the past two months, it was alarming to see firsthand how many people had name badges that said “former” or “looking for work.

“My point in all this is that we have to, first of all, recognize the realities of the general mindset in our industry. How can you expect a procurement team to worry about carbon footprint and conflict minerals when there is so much economic uncertainty? Even in good times, there is a long history of “risk recognition and inaction.” A McKinsey 2006 survey provides compelling evidence of how risk avoidance was more a state of mind than an actual event.

While not as acute, the challenges we faced in 2006 are no different from those we face today regarding compliance. The question is this: why will our response be different this time?

One reason I think it will be different this time is that the cost of non-compliance increased by 2,650% from 2017-2019, which is the definition of exponential growth.

Ideal Conditions For A Speed Trap

A hidden scaffolding of financial incentives underpins the policing of motorists in the United States, encouraging some communities to essentially repurpose armed officers as revenue agents searching for infractions largely unrelated to public safety.” – New York Times (2021)

According to one report, the average police officer writes 100 to 150 tickets each month. While that number can vary from city to city, town to town, it is safe to say that when it comes to moving violations such as speeding tickets, there is a noticeable police presence, e.g., speed traps at the end of the month. Yes, this is an anecdotal observation, more than a scientific conclusion. But does that make it any less accurate?

Here is the reality. During tough economic times, government deficits increase. There are primarily two ways to plug deficits. The first is to cut spending and the direct and indirect taxation of people and businesses. This approach rarely happens.

When you look at the size of fiscal deficits and all the fines that businesses across the globe will eventually face, you can see how governments understand that they have a unique speed trap set from an enforcement perspective, as companies have no good way to effectively and efficiently manage their large and extended supply networks from a compliance perspective.

To be clear, this is not an anti-government rant. It is a reality.

If you disagree with me, google the term “sin tax.”

According to one of many definitions, “sin taxes are usually placed on the sale of cigarettes, liquor, tobacco and other goods that are considered dangerous to individuals or society.”

There is a clear parallel here when you think about conflict minerals, global warming, modern slavery, data privacy, etc.; these are also societal issues that negatively affect us all.

Stay tuned for Part 2: How To Avoid The Non-Compliance Speed Trap (What’s The Opposite of Cynical?)

The “Q” Word – Questionnaires

A favorite character in the James Bond series (other than James himself) is Q. Q always has these amazing hi-tech gadgets that save James from a certain demise at just the right time. Explosive alarm clocks, the Knife Shoe, exploding pens, a submarine Lotus Esprit, and of course the attacking sofa. He also has little patience for James and his laissez-faire attitude.  Q is cool.  

For your suppliers, what’s not cool is the “Q” word: Questionnaires.

Suppliers receive and return countless questionnaires containing dozens to hundreds of questions from each customer. Many of these questions are similar from customer to customer with slight variations and various formats. Just google “supplier questionnaires” and you’ll be overwhelmed with many template options and suggestions of what to include in your questionnaires. 

So as a procurement organization, what should you include in your questionnaires? And how do you keep them up to date? Key global risks, evolving market conditions, geopolitical issues, and new compliance mandates require revisions to your questionnaires to collect crucial pieces of information from your suppliers. This is necessary to mitigate any risk to your organization. 

Each time a company sends out a questionnaire or sends an updated questionnaire, the supplier must respond to each customer separately. The queue for having your specific questionnaire updated and returned can be quite lengthy, therefore creating a lag in the transfer of information. This lag leads to stale data and a lack of visibility to manage your company’s risk in current market conditions.

So, what’s the solution?  The “S” word: Standardization. Trust Your Supplier (TYS) has pulled together a conglomerate of major buying organizations to develop a set of questionnaires that are standardized. These questionnaires cover industry, location, and buyer-specific issues that allow each organization to assign the relevant questionnaires to their suppliers. And these questionnaires are kept updated to reflect new requirements and regulations.

Here’s an example of how it works: 

A set of questionnaires can be assigned to a supplier by a customer. Once those questionnaires have been completed and published by the supplier, the procurement team can review the answers. But there’s more!  Suppliers can then share the same completed questionnaires with other customers…with just a click of a button. So instead of sending the same 200 answers separately to each customer, the supplier now just needs to focus on any unique questions a customer may have. This dramatically reduces the supplier’s administrative burden as well as the onboarding time and keeps their information current and accurate.  

Let’s suppose this supplier has added a new product and now they are working with conflict minerals. No problem. The supplier can update the Conflict Minerals questionnaire and once published, the system will automatically notify every connected customer. The supplier’s new motto is now: “Do Once, Share with Many.”

These standardized questionnaires offer additional benefits to buyer teams. The TYS approvals workflow can be customized and automated with each questionnaire. Each answer can be “scored” based on your internal risk threshold. Any answer that does not align with your company’s preferred score will then be directed to the appropriate team role for further review and approval. This allows your team to focus on undesirable answers rather than spending time reviewing all answers.

Another TYS feature that softens the blow of the Q word is Questionnaire Groups. Depending on the supplier segmentation strategy, buyer organizations can use a targeted approach to send relevant questionnaires to a configured group of suppliers. These groups are customized by the buyer team and then assigned as a group to suppliers that fit into that category (i.e., location). This simplifies the questionnaire assignment process for the buyer team. 

And the newest TYS feature is Predictive Questionnaires. Buyer teams can create a set of rules that will predict which questionnaires should be assigned to a particular supplier. This is tremendously valuable as new compliance regulations and laws come into play throughout the world, and provides the opportunity to reach more of your supplier base without further manual outreach.

Ultimately, standardization and automation result in benefits for both supplier and buyer organizations. The reduction in the onboarding cycle time allows transactions to occur faster and there is reduced administrative effort on both sides. Buyer organizations can also then benefit from having full visibility into their supplier base for strategic decision-making and risk management.  

Check out a real example of how quickly suppliers can complete their profiles and questionnaires on the TYS system.

UN Anti-Corruption & Human Rights 2022

As part of our mission, Trust Your Supplier allows organizations to manage a broad spectrum of subject areas to inform compliance with global regulations. We would like to recognize the work being done by the United Nations in the areas of Anti-Corruption and Human Rights. 

Over the next couple of days, the United Nations will launch yearlong campaigns to recognize the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. These issues impact areas such as financial, human potential, societal trust, and our future.  

Read more about the Cost of Corruption and how ‘dirty money’ breaks everything – and what we can do to fight back here: https://undp.medium.com/the-cost-of-corruption-a827306696fb  

Learn more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here: https://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/declaration.html  

#UnitedAgainstCorruption #IACD2022 #UNCAC20 #STANDUP4HUMANRIGHTS 

SIG Podcast Episode with Moody’s Analytics & Trust Your Supplier

The latest episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast focuses on how procurement and compliance teams of enterprise organizations are coping with geo-political, regulatory, and industry risks. 

Host Dawn Tiura, SIG President & CEO discusses the Trust Your Supplier and Moody’s Analytics partnerships for illuminating supplier risk with Gary Storr, Trust Your Supplier’s GM, and Enrico Aresu, Moody’s Analytics Director of Compliance & Financial Crime Industry Practice Lead for DACH and BeNeLux. 

Gary describes the evolution of TYS, and why we’ve evolved from an onboarding platform to a full ecosystem of risk & compliance data & tools. Partnering with risk Intelligence data providers, such as Moody’s Analytics, allows TYS users to stay on top of a wide array of compliance regulations, such as the new Human Rights legislation (SCDDA) from Germany.  

Listen or watch at: 

SIG:  https://sig.org/preventing-risk-and-compliance-struggles-keeping-your-buyers-night-enrico-aresu-moody%E2%80%99s-analytics  

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/preventing-risk-and-compliance-struggles-from-keeping/id1352492997?i=1000585400855 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/LnkmRSeo6Gw 

Germany Supply Chain Due Diligence Act: A Guide for Suppliers 

Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (Lieferkettengesetz or LkSG) comes into effect in Germany from 2023. Known in English as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA), the law mandates companies with offices in Germany to conduct due diligence on their supply chains to protect human rights and the environment.   

For our Trust Your Supplier buyer organizations, we’ve created a quick guide to help your suppliers understand and respond to customer requests in such a way as to make sure that their organization benefits from the process, too. 

This guide can be downloaded here to share with your suppliers. 

supplier.io 2022 Supplier Diversity Report

For the fifth year, supplier.io launched a survey aimed to define the supplier diversity industry for the supplier diversity professionals managing and growing their companies’ programs. 

“The State of Supplier Diversity Report revealed big changes in the primary drivers of supplier diversity. More and more companies see programs as a core component of their company culture, and executive and board support is at an all-time high. However, signs of disconnects appear between executive leadership support and solvable challenges that seem to remain for supplier diversity practitioners, notably in implementing scalable processes.

Download the 2022 report to learn more.  

Supplier.io is now available on the Trust Your Supplier network. Learn more: https://trustyoursupplier.com/portfolio/supplier-io/ 

supplier.io is a TYS Partner

supplier.io is the leading SaaS provider of solutions that enable companies to manage, optimize, and scale their supplier diversity programs. Equipped with unparalleled data intelligence, superior technology, and expert guidance, customers can establish and advance their supplier diversity initiatives effectively and strategically. 

Supplier.io is now available on the Trust Your Supplier network. Learn more: https://trustyoursupplier.com/portfolio/supplier-io/