Report: Inadequate supplier data still threatens supply chains

Most procurement professionals say they lack the level of supplier data that would help protect their supply chains from global crises, despite the wake-up call to the need for resiliency and supplier visibility brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to research from supplier intelligence platform Tealbook, released earlier this month.

The firm’s 2021 Supplier Information Study was conducted by market research firm Wakefield Research, which polled 250 procurement and sourcing executives at companies with $200 million or more in annual sales. They found that 72% of procurement leaders are “very concerned” that their supplier intelligence has not improved in the last year to “crisis-proof” their supply chains.

“Covid-19 was a wake-up call to organizations around the world. Without a solid data foundation in place, the next big disruption could be even more disastrous for supply chains,” Stephany Lapierre, Tealbook’s CEO, said in a statement. “Access to up-to-date supplier data will afford companies the agility necessary to weather future disruptions, but also to make the most of supplier innovations in a rapidly evolving landscape.”

Nearly all respondents—96%—said agility is more important than cost savings for their companies’ bottom line, according to the research. In addition, more than half (57%) said that antiquated, manual data-entry processes slow their ability to update supplier information, which prevents them from responding quickly to supply chain delays and disruptions. More than 40% of respondents said their supplier data has proven inadequate during the pandemic, and more than a quarter labeled that data as “mostly or completely inadequate.”

The situation reflects “a data foundation that’s nowhere near strong enough to stand up to current or future supply chain disruptions,” the researchers said.