Are you keen to improve your vendor supplier relationship but don’t know how?
Supplier performance dashboards are the latest innovation when it comes to improving vendor monitoring and overall business performance.
Tackling supply chain challenges in a digital world requires digital solutions.
But before diving into the advantages of investing in dashboards, we need to go back to the basics. What is a supplier performance dashboard anyway?
Let’s find out.
What is a Supplier Performance Dashboard?
A supplier performance dashboard is a tool for vendor information management that allows you to see, analyze, display, and assess key vendor performance indicators. This, therefore, makes it an invaluable tool for any organization.
It relies on data visualization innovations and technologies to carry out in-depth analysis and displays the results in a pragmatic manner.
Wayne W. Eckerson surmises in his Deploying Dashboards and Scorecards Report that dashboards, “…are the most visual elements of a performance management system that merges the functionality of business intelligence technology and performance management.”
In a nutshell, supplier performance dashboards give you access to vendor data presented in an easy-to-digest form.
The Objectives of Using Supplier Performance Dashboards
One of the major reasons organizations use supplier performance dashboards is to measure vendor performance.
Procurement teams need a way to track supplier metrics that are needed for smooth and effective business operations. Supplier performance dashboards provide these teams with access to a consolidated view of relevant vendor information. And from this dashboard, procurement teams can derive valuable insight with which to make better business decisions.
The best supplier performance dashboards will give you real-time access to vendor performance metrics and a platform to interact with the data and evaluate it.
7 Business Benefits of Using Supplier Performance Dashboards
So, now that we know what a supplier performance dashboard is and what its major purposes are, let’s turn our attention to the advantages to be had in deploying one.
1. Greater Vendor Data Visibility
The average organization generates colossal amounts of supplier data on a daily basis. It can become quite complex trying to navigate through all this information if it’s not structured and presented coherently.
This is where supplier performance dashboards come in. They are extremely helpful tools because they increase data visibility. And enhanced visibility allows procurement teams to respond accordingly to market conditions when sourcing in supply chain.
2. Faster Data Retrieval and Report Generation
There is a well-known idiom in business, ‘Time is money’. Consequently, enterprises are always looking at ways to cut back on non-essential tasks so they can focus on those activities that grow to the bottom line.
Where supplier performance is concerned, many teams are still wasting precious time by manually generating reports where they could easily change things up by investing in a supplier performance dashboard.
Not only does this provide them with a centralized repository of every vendor’s detail but the consolidation of information means reports can be automatically generated and data retrieval made easier.
3. Improve the Vendor Supplier Relationship
Clear vendor metrics obtained from the dashboard will provide insight into a supplier’s performance paving the way for easier discussions and negotiations.
By studying a supplier’s previous performance, you are better able to predict their reactions. You can then plan with greater efficiency for your next procurement cycle, setting realistic goals.
Having this knowledge can help you strategically work with your vendors and in this way improve the vendor supplier relationship.
4. Instant Access to Supplier Key Performance Indicators
Organizations generally have a handful of suppliers they are working with at any given moment in time.
A supplier performance dashboard can facilitate the display of individual vendor information in visual form in real-time.
Thus, procurement managers wanting a quick overview of each vendor’s KPIs are hence able to retrieve the information and view it as and when they have need.
5. Tracks Inventory Levels, In-Transit Goods, and Delivered Raw Materials
The analysis provided by a supplier performance dashboard lets procurement teams know what they still have in stock and when supplies are running low.
In addition, they can also answer questions such as, ‘Has the supplier delivered the goods ordered from them? Or are the raw materials still in transit?’ by merely consulting the dashboard.
This inventory feature is a great addition as it aids organizations to avoid situations that might see them having to resolve last-minute unplanned purchasing.
6. Get Bigger Discounts Prospectively
Equipped with real-time vendor insight on existing supplier performance behavior, you stand to benefit immensely if you can identify ways to make things easier for your vendors.
Seeking to make life better for your vendors will not only make you more favorable in their eyes but may result in bigger discounts being offered.
By taking advantage of this real-time access, you can concentrate efforts on developing marketing strategies that will get you in the good graces of your vendors. A tactic that will inadvertently improve your vendor supplier relationship.
7. Better Decision-Making
One of the chief goals of procurement teams is making better decisions that streamline operations, allow for cost-savings, and ultimately improve the company’s bottom line.
A supplier performance dashboard enables organizations to more efficiently analyze and understand data so better decisions are arrived at much more quickly.
Getting Started with Supplier Performance Dashboards
The benefits of deploying supplier performance dashboards in your business are numerous. If you want to be ahead of the competition and retain a competitive edge then it’s an absolute must to be on top of your supplier performance management.
But if you’re not sure where to start in terms of choosing the correct supplier performance dashboard and need help, our ProcurePort consultants are ready to help.
As a procurement software vendor trusted and used by enterprises and organizations such as UNOPS, HUD.GOV, and conEdison, you’re in good hands.
Contact us today.
