Supplier participation is essential to the success of your collaborative commerce program.
Whether your suppliers participate in the program depends on the establishment and communication of your Collaborative Commerce Compliance Policy, and the extent to which people in your company are equipped to enforce it. Ensuring the latter requires attention to four things:
-
Resources: Key roles and responsibilities
-
Stakeholders
-
Program cadence
-
Communication
1. Resources: Key roles and responsibilities
Identify the key individuals involved and define the portion of their time they should dedicate to the program. This table contains an organizational structure that has proven most effective:
Key role |
Description/Responsibility |
Portion of time |
Sponsor |
The person who has budget responsibility for the program. |
10% |
Stakeholders |
Decision makers within Procurement, AP, IT, and Training who help establish policy, define business processes, and provide resources. |
15% |
Supplier enablement lead |
The project manager who leads the cross-functional team. If the program grows to more than 500 sellers, add ½ FTE. |
100% |
Accounts payable (AP) resources |
An individual who manages the cleanup of the master vendor list and program execution. |
10% |
IT resource |
Someone who is responsible for system issues and integration testing. |
15% |
Supply chain manager |
Someone who supports messaging to sellers and assists with catalogs and purchase orders. |
20% |
Download PDF for more detailed descriptions of these roles and their responsibilities.
2. Stakeholders
To help ensure stakeholders are engaged in the program, hold a meeting with them before you begin the process of onboarding suppliers to Ariba Network. The purpose of the meeting is twofold: to discuss the new collaborative commerce solution and its implementation program, and to confirm organization-wide understanding and consensus on:
-
How implementation will help achieve the company’s goals
-
The company’s policy for complying with the program, and ramifications for not doing so
-
Each stakeholder’s role in helping to ensure compliance
-
The key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure progress
Your customer engagement executive and other SAP Ariba representatives can help you plan your meeting objectives and agenda. (For an example agenda, click here.)
3. Program cadence
Things change over time: your supply base, the scope of your projects, and a host of other internal and external factors and influences. That is one reason your collaborative commerce initiative is not a short-term project but an ongoing program.
It’s very important that we help you develop a sequence of events and a timeline to reach your goals and sustain your results. Here are some things to keep in mind:
-
After your initial launch, there should be a rolling go-live process to enable remaining suppliers in “waves.”
-
Waves should be scheduled weekly or bi-weekly to maintain momentum.
-
Complete each wave as soon as possible to avoid overlap of wave activities.
Download this chart to see a program cadence timeline example.
4. Communication
Delivering conflicting messages is the easiest way to jeopardize supplier participation. For example, a supplier who receives a notice asking them to join Ariba Network may call your organization to inquire about it. If they reach someone who says they aren’t familiar with the program or don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about, the supplier will probably not comply — now or in the future.
To ensure program success, you must communicate with your leadership team, employees, peers, and any other internal teams affected by your collaborative commerce initiative.
Communicate these three points:
-
We are changing the way we do business.
-
This change is not an exercise or short-term project. The program is a fundamental change to our business. We will not return to a paper-based process after our Ariba Network deployment.
-
Every employee and supplier, regardless of their role, is expected to understand how they are affected by the program and do their part to ensure the program’s success.
B&H Photo shares best practice tips for buyers and suppliers beginning their enablement process. Watch now
Internal Change Management
Inform stakeholders about the launch of your collaborative commerce program and encourage their buy-in.