5/12/2015 SupplierCollaborationatKinexions

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Howdoyoucollaborate?Alookatsuppliercollaboration

byNazliErdogusPublishedNovember21st,2013

Ilovetogetmyhandsonnewdevicesandapplicationsthatcanbeusedintheworkplace.Withsomuchaccesstotechnologytodaythatallowsworkerstobeinconstantcontactwithcolleagues,youwouldthinkthatcollaborationwouldbeeasierthanever.But,recently,Ireadanarticlearguingthatthereisincreasingdemandformorefacetofacecommunicationinorganizations.Ofcourse,facetimewithcolleaguesisnotalwayspossibleforbusinessesformultiplereasons,includingtimeconstraintsandthehighcostoftravel.

Accordingtoasurveyofover1,000U.S.employees,conductedbyKeltonGlobal,peoplewereaskedhowtheyprefertocollaborateandsurprisingly72%ofrespondentsansweredinperson,23%answeredonlineand5%answeredviaphoneorvideoconference.Inaddition,nearlytwoinfiveemployedAmericansfeelthereisnotenoughcollaborationintheirworkplace.Theredefinitelyseemstobeagaphere.Sowhilereadingthesearticles,Isaidtomyselfwaitaminute,Iknowthatwecanhelpfacilitatebettercollaborationintheworkplace,asleastforsupplychainprofessionals!

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5/12/2015 SupplierCollaborationatKinexions

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Thisresearchtakesmetoourannualuserconference,Kinexions,whichwasheldafewweeksagoinScottsdale,Arizonawhereourcustomers,partnersandprospectsgottogethertohearaboutrecentdevelopmentsinRapidResponseandourcustomerssharedtheirstoriesofsuccessfulRapidResponsedeployments.Wealsohadsomethinguniqueatthisconference:wewereabletoshowsuppliercollaborationinRapidResponse.Thisfeatureenablesanefficientandeffectiveprocessbetweenbuyersandsuppliers.UsingRapidResponse,enterpriseshavedirectsupplierinteractionwithautomatedB2Bdataexchangesforanumberofdifferentsituations.

Atourconference,wewereeagertopresentthepowerofsuppliercollaborationbyaddinganotherelementtoit.WeshowedanintegrateddemonstrationbetweenRapidResponseandtheGTNexusportal.Wereceivedpositiveinterestandvaluablefeedbackfromindustryanalysts,customersandprospectstellingushowpowerfulandintuitivethisapproachis.

ThedemonstrationpointedoutacombinedsolutionusingtheRapidResponseclientandGTNexusportalwheresuppliersandbuyerssense,evaluate,decideandactuponasupplydisruption.Thisintegratedsolutiondisplaysuniquecapabilitiesincludingmultienterprisevisibility,immediatesimulationstoenactonchanges,andcoordinatedmultipartyresponses.

TheabilitytoconnectwiththeGTNexusportalenablesthesuppliertosensetherealtimedataacrossamultienterpriselevel,feedthisupdatetoRapidResponse,andletRapidResponsedoitsmagicinreplanningandscenarioanalysis.Thescenariocomparisonusesanumberofbusinessmetricsandenablesthedecisionmakertoanalyzethecomparisononfinancialimpacts.Then,itstimeforGTNexustobefedbackwiththeanalyzeddataforaction.

Thisinitiativeservesabroadinteractionbetweensuppliers,buyersandevenapossibleadditionaltierofsuppliersinvolvedinthesupplychain.WeknowthatlettingasupplierhaveaccesstoRapidResponsetocommittorequesteddatesandquantitiesisbeneficialtoimprovetheflexibilityofyoursupplychainandtheprofitabilityofyourenterprise.Werenowaddingsomecreamontopofit.

So,whatsnext?Thebigthingisthatwearenotonlycollaboratingwiththesupplier,butalsolettingsupplierstosensechangesandtheopportunitytomakerespectivechanges.Withthisinmind,wecanalsosaywhatsnextcouldbepreventingdisruptionsinyoursupplychainbeforetheyhappen.Imagineaworldwhereyoucansensethedisruptioncomingbyidentifyinglimitsthroughyourconfidenceintervals,lookingatimportantmetricsthatperforma

5/12/2015 SupplierCollaborationatKinexions

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negativetrend,andbeabletorespondtothatasapreventiveaction.Thatdefinitelysoundslikethenextchapter.

Itseemssafetosaythisintegrationwoulddefinitelybringmorethanenoughcollaborationinsupplychainplatformstoanswertheneedformorecollaborationacrossdifferentteams,thusenablingcompaniestodoabetterjobofprovidingapplicationsthatencouragecollaboration.

Collaborationisimportantandwedefinitelytakeitseriously.

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Salesandoperationsplanning(S&OP)SupplychaincollaborationSupplychainmanagement

AbouttheAuthorNazliErdogusSolutionConsultant

MoreblogpostsbyNazliErdogus

Discussions1. NavdeepSidhuNovember22,2013at11:43am

Ifeellikethefacetofaceinteractionsbetweensuppliershelpmitigatealotofconfusion.

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5/12/2015 SupplierCollaborationatKinexions

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Sometimesitreallyisjusteasiertotalktosomeoneforafewminutesthangobackandforthviaemailallday.People,forthemostpart,stillliketointeractwithotherpeopleduringtheday!Andwhenyouarelookingatthesupplychainittouchessomanypartsoftheorganizationthatyouneedtomakesureeveryoneisonboard.

2. NazliErdogusNovember22,2013at5:13pmThanksalotforyourcommentNavdeep.Agreed,facetofaceinteractionmakeslifeeasieralotoftimes.Ialsothinkthereisahumanerrorfactorinvolvedwhenitcomestosupplychainprocesses,especiallyifwearetalkingwithnumbersanddates.Makingsureeveryoneintheseprocessesareinvolvedisdefinitelycrucial!

3. PeterWhitcombNovember26,2013at12:38amThisRapidResponsetoolsoundsreallyusefulandseemslikeitcouldmitigatealotoftheissuesassociatedwithamultisupplierrelationship.Clearlythebuyerwouldbenefitfromacentralcollaborationtoolthatprovidesinsightandtransparencyintoaparticularsupplierrelationship.However,Iwouldbecurioustoseetheadoptionratesofsuppliersinamorecompetitivecontextorindustrywherethesuppliermayretainthepowerintherelationship.Orwouldsuppliersbewillingtocollaboratewitheachotheronacertainprojectwhentheyareineffect,competitors?Inanycase,itsclearfromahumannatureperspective,thatatoolthatallowsforcollaborationacrosssupplierstorunatighterandmoreefficientsupplychain,isausefultool.Neatarticle.

4. NazliErdogusNovember27,2013at12:21pmThanksalotforyourinterestPeter.Indeed,weareaimingtofacilitatetheinteractionbetweenthebuyerandsupplier/suppliershere.Asyoumentioned,incaseofmultiplesuppliersbeingaskedforasinglepart,it`smuchfastertofeedthemtherelevantdataasabuyerwithallthedetailsofthepurchaseorders.Yourpointinsupplierscollaboratingamongeachotheriscertainlyvalid,asmuchasthereiscompetitionitcoulddefinitelybeusedtoallparties`interest.Thanksagain.

5. SherlleyLooDecember3,2013at6:19pmThankyouforyourarticle.Thereisnodoubtthatfacetofacecommunicationismostefficient.Notonlyistherenotadelayinrelayingamessagethroughothermediumssuchasemailbutthereisnotabarriersuchasiftherewereinconferencevideoorphone.RapidResponsesoundslikeagreattechnologythatcanmakecommunicationacrossthesupplychainsmoreefficientandeffective.Therewouldbeagreaterpowerofsuppliercollaborationandappropriateinformationcanbesenttoeachbuyerandsupplier.This

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makesmethinkoftheBeerDistributiongame.However,whathappenswhenthebuyerhasmultiplesuppliersofanidenticalproductandwantsitssupplierstocompeteforitsbusiness?RapidResponseisstraightforwardifthereisaonetoonesuppliertobuyer.However,iftherearemultiplesuppliersthatabuyercanpurchasefrom,thiscomplicatesthesituation.HowcanRapidResponsemakeperformascenarioanalysisatthispoint?

6. ChristieVowellDecember4,2013at3:17pmIreallyenjoyedthisarticle.Frompersonalexperience,Icancertainlyattesttofacetofacecommunicationbeingpreferred.Itiseasiertofosterrelationshipsandcommitmentwhenyouareabletomeetwiththeotherperson.TheuseofRapidResponseseemsinvaluabletocompanies.ThoughIdoagreethatvaryingcircumstancesmayrequiredifferentlevelsoftransparency,thereisnodoubtthattheavailabilityofcurrentandaccurateinformationthroughoutthesupplychaincanleadtosuppliersbeingabletomoreadequatelymeetdemands.Communicationbetweensuppliersandbuyersisessential,especiallyinmarketswithhighlevelsoffluctuations.IthinkRapidResponseisagreatwaytomitigatesomeoftheriskinvolvedinvolatilemarkets.

7. NazliErdogusDecember5,2013at12:59pmThanksalotforyourinterestSherlley.HavingplayedtheBeerDistributiongamemyselfinmyundergrad,Iunderstandthereference.HereatKinaxiswerealizehowcrucialcollaborationisbetweenbuyerandsupplierIfwereusingthebeerdistributiongameasanexample,weknowthatitcouldcausemajorimplicationsrangingfrombeingunderstocktooverstock,whichwouldhavenegativeimpactsonbusiness.

Youraisedaveryimportantpointbymentioningabuyerdealingwithmultiplesuppliers.RapidResponseusesERPasthesource,thus,anypurchaseordercomingfromthesourceisconsideredastheselectedsupplier.And,itsdefinitelypossibletohavemultiplelineordersattachedtodifferentsuppliers,whichisfedtoRapidResponse.RapidResponseallowssuppliercollaborationforeachofthoselineitems.Havingdonethisfeedfromthesource,scenarioanalysiscanbemadefortheselineitems.

Hopethisanswersyourquestion,andthanksagainforthecomment!

8. NazliErdogusDecember5,2013at7:53pmThanksalotforyourinterestintheblogChristie.

Indeed,collaborationgetsharderconsideringthefactthattherearemultiplepartiesandmultiplevariablesinvolvedinsupplychains.Thekeycontinuestobeeffectivelyadapttochangingrequirementsandcollaboratewithmultipletiersinasupplychainasnecessary.HereatKinaxis,wearecontinuouslyaimingtomitigatefluctuationsthroughapplyingause

5/12/2015 SupplierCollaborationatKinexions

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caseapproachinourdevelopmentphasestohelpsupportsupplychainsofvariousindustries,keepinginmindthatmarketsareusuallyhighlyvolatile.

9. MikeOswaltDecember20,2013at9:44amThanksforthegoodthoughtNazli.

Suppliercollaborationisfrequentlyusedtoday.Itmakesmewonderwhatsuppliercollaborationis?Itypicallywanttoviewitastechnologyenabledcommunicationsomethingakintoforumdiscussionswheremultipleparties(clients,suppliers,customers,buyers,engineers,logisticians,)solveproblemsrelatedtoaproduct,contract,ororder.Othershaveclearlydefinedittomenotastechnologybut,moreofawillingnessofsupplierstoworktoprovidesolutionsresolveproblemswhetheritisaccomplishedviaconference,facetoface,orotherwise.CompaniesworkingtogetherseamlesslytosolveproblemsisfraughtwithproblemsIPprotection,datasecurity,andatamostfundamentallevelwhobenefitsfromthecollaboration.Collaborationrequireseffort.Effortrequitesbudgetsandfunding.Whatsinitformecontrolscollaboration.

Isemailthebaneofcollaboration?Howdoyouweenusersawayfromemailtoparticipateincollaborativeenvironments?

Withoutthedirectionofsolvingabusinessproblem(closelytiedtoabusinessprocess),collaborationmorecloselyresemblescommentsonablogposting.

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