Insights by Nitor

CLEVELAND— December 16, 2020 - Nitor today announced that its Nitor CONNECTOR for SAP^® Ariba^® and Qualtrics^® XM for Suppliers is now available on SAP® App Center, the digital marketplace for SAP partner offerings. This new application integrates SAP Ariba solutions and Qualtrics XM for Suppliers, available on the Qualtrics XM Platform™, enabling automatic supplier feedback requests, distribution and data collection from within SAP Ariba solutions.

When the CFO states that your organization needs to save money, you listen! When your supervisor makes a “suggestion,” you listen! When your spouse tells you what he/she wants for an anniversary gift, you listen! When your favorite song plays on the radio, you listen!

When data speaks; DO YOU LISTEN?

An earlier blog posting, “Finding Opportunities in Spend Analysis” (May 24, 2016), focused on the mechanics of spend analysis in detail. As you go through these mechanics and perform the activities associated with sound spend data analysis, ask yourself the question, “What is the data saying?” or “Am I letting the data speak?” All too often, we don’t ask those questions and drive toward a pre-fixed solution regardless of what the data is actually telling us. Or worse, we force the data to fit a pre-determined sourcing strategy. Strategic Sourcing approaches are guided by the data and our ability to interpret the data, not the other way around. Remember, the key is to turn data into useful information.

Races have a starting line and a finish line. Whether running a sprint, in a Formula One race car, on a thoroughbred horse or in a homemade soap box derby car - the same fundamental premise applies: get off to a great start, run an effective race and get to the finish line in the quickest way possible.

Races begin with the announcement “ON YOUR MARK; GET SET; GO!” or some variation of this timeless announcement. The key is that racers are provided direction as to when to find their mark (starting point) and get set (a time to prepare). These stages leading up to the “Go!” moment are crucial to an effective start.

As a company goes through the process of implementing an eProcurement system, the impact on internal stakeholders is often managed through important Change Management workstreams such as communications and training.  Just as important, but sometimes overlooked, are the external stakeholders - namely, the suppliers who will begin to transact business with the company through the eProcurement system.  Adoption by both of these groups - internal and external - is needed to ensure a successful implementation.

What if you heard from a friend only once a year?  Maybe each year you receive a birthday card to acknowledge your special day, or they call you when they need something.  Do you feel a strong connection/relationship, or is it a case of out of sight, out of mind?