How real-time information can transform your supply chain

The use of data and real-time information to make informed talent decisions has been a focus of discussions in the world of HR and Procurement for some time now. Indeed, the ability to use Big Data and talent analytics to identify resourcing trends, highlight potential skills gaps in advance and track contingent workforce usage is certainly a common theme at the moment.

But, arguably one area where real-time information hasn’t been as effectively used as it could be is in the management of talent and recruitment supply chains.

Effective supply chain management

For many of you reading this blog, it will certainly be a given that supplier performance reviews will occur at some point. In many instances this will arguably take the form of an assessment each month or quarter. However, what 2020 has certainly shown us all is that business environments can change incredibly quickly.

We’ve seen overnight shifts in demand that have required urgent requisitions to be distributed to the supply chain as employers attempt to adapt quickly, efficiently and effectively. And with speed of the essence in most cases, HR and Procurement teams simply haven’t had the resources to handle every supplier response in these situations.

The key challenge is quite simply that without the latest and most up-to-date information on supplier performance that can be easily tailored based on evolving circumstances, mass requisitions are going to potentially low-performing or irrelevant suppliers, rather than targeted high-performing ones.

Gaining real time visibility

This is where real time data can be immensely valuable in transforming your supply chain so that it suits your existing and future needs. Advanced analytics can identify the most appropriate suppliers based on your existing or new criteria. Perhaps more importantly, the evidenced-based statistics will provide a much clearer indication as to which supply chain leaders have delivered the best results in similar programmes elsewhere, so you’ll have complete confidence that requisitions are going to highly targeted partners.

The result is a much more effective and streamlined supply chain execution that delivers the best results in a timely manner.

Benchmarking success

Having real time supply chain visibility across multiple vendors is also a hugely valuable tool for benchmarking suppliers. In the current climate, waiting for a quarterly performance review is arguably too late in many circumstances. Efficiency is a keyword in these difficult times and HR and Procurement teams understandably need to be able to trust that they are strategically utilising the supply chain so no opportunity is wasted.

Crucially, by also allowing suppliers themselves to access key performance indicators on a real time basis and benchmark themselves against market averages and programmes they support, vendors will have early insight into how they are performing and be able to pivot where necessary. This provides multiple long-term benefits and will ultimately improve customer and client satisfaction, while also improving supply chain management.

VISION from Guidant

We know that real-time information can transform supply chains because Guidant Global has utilised it for our suppliers and clients for some time now. We’ve created an interactive decision support system that aggregates supplier data across the globe, allowing users to explore and analyse performance data by supplier, program, job category, job title, requisition/worker type, and location.

VISION (or Virtual Insights & Supplier Intelligence Optimisation Network) is a virtual network that provides meaningful data to ensure our clients are making confident data driven decisions.

However, we also ensure that our suppliers benefit from the real-time data that VISION aggregates. We’ve always taken a partnership approach with our suppliers and aim to nurture and support their business for the benefit of the supply chain and end-clients alike. In fact, this approach has meant we’ve received an outstanding global supplier satisfaction score.

In order to best guide our supply partners, we provide free access to VISION, allowing them to see up-to-date performance metrics for themselves, the programmes they support and wider market data. This allows those in the supply chain to actively target improvement areas before it’s arguably too late.

A future-proof approach

Real-time data access has the potential to streamline and improve talent supply chains, which is understandably crucial in times of crisis. However, beyond tough economic climates, up-to-date statistics are beneficial for so much more – including guiding decisions in the lead up to mergers or acquisitions or at times when a company needs to pivot to a new market or geography.

Feeding in real-time information into on-going company growth strategies will provide key success indicators and we’re certainly seeing more businesses and recruitment suppliers place greater interest in this data. But there is more progress to be made. Increasingly sophisticated tools are being integrated into data access to not only aggregate valuable information but also use it for future-planning. The use of predictive analytics, for example, will only grow in the near-future to support HR and Procurement teams plan for various scenarios and assess if the existing supply chain is fit to support.

If used wisely, real-time data can really positively transform your supply chain – why not contact our expert team to find out more?