The PRO-Q platform for the management of purchasing processes of private enterprises and public administrations providesinnumerable advantages to institutions. Prominent among these advantages is the ability to customize the platform according to the needs of the user, with the aim of streamlining the work and making it easier and more effective to manage various aspects of the purchasing process. This customization results in the customer being able to choose which of the modules provided by PRO-Q to activate, but it does not stop there. In fact, the platform can also be complemented by highly customizable tools such as the evaluation questionnaires of the “Supplier Ecosystem” module, which the client can use as real business tools, useful for improving its processes and functional for its growth.
PRO-Q’s “Supplier Ecosystem” feature
Thanks to PRO-Q, it is possible to include within the platform a series of dynamic questionnaires, which can be integrated into the “Tenders” module and the “Supplier Register” module of the software. These questionnaires are constructed on an ad hoc basis from the specific needs of the client, who can set the type and number of questions in order to collect information that is functional for his or her business.
The inclusion of an evaluation questionnaire within the Supplier Register module allows the customer-supplier relationship to be transformed into a true ecosystem that adds value to the relationship. Suppliers, in this view, are in fact not just producing and sending documentation, but are involved in the qualification process, and provide the Authority with a range of additional information that is useful when preparing tenders.
All those who want to register for the Register are asked to answer a series of extremely specific and precise questions related to timelines, ways of working, services offered, and so on. The answers to these questions remain stored in the platform, available to the customer, and thus provide him with a wealth of accurate, easily searchable and perfectly comparable information, enabling him to assign automatic scores to each supplier through specific evaluation tools, thus limiting supply chain risks.
On the one hand, this feature makes it possible to rmake the Suppliers’ Register even more orderly and detailed and on the other hand it simplifies the activity of operators, who no longer have to resort to alternative tools (email, phone calls…) to collect specific information from individual suppliers.
Different types of questionnaires, constructed according to different product categories, can also be associated with the Supplier Register. The customer has the option of setting up different questionnaires to ask his potential suppliers extremely precise questions, and the supplier will display, when filling them out, only those questions deemed relevant to his product category. This ensures a twofold advantage, which affects both potential suppliers and users of the platform: the former, in fact, are put in a position not to waste time and to maximize the time required for compilation, while the latter have the possibility of obtaining truly useful and specific answers.
To facilitate the reading and comparison of the collected data, PRO-Q also allows each vendor who filled out the dynamic questionnaire to be associated with a score, which is automatically calculated by the software based on the responses entered into the platform. This makes it very easy to compare potential suppliers, starting with the score automatically indicated by the software.
The “Supplier Ecosystem” functionality, as we have mentioned, can also be associated with the Tenders module. In this case, customized questionnaires allow all those who intend to participate in a particular tender to be asked a series of precise and timely questions, which suppliers are required to answer. This allows the client to collect specific data that are much easier to analyze and compare than information that can be gleaned, for example, from technical reports prepared independently by each individual supplier. Again, rom the data entered when completing the questionnaire, the software derives a score that is assigned to the provider and remains visible within the platform. This score, known as the “technical score,” is obviously not sufficient to determine which of the various suppliers is the best, but it is an excellent starting point and makes it easier for the Entity to evaluate the bid overall, which can later make its choices knowing that the more strictly “measurable” aspects have already been evaluated. The technical score, economic score, and various data derived from PRO-Q’s Vendor Rating system thus provide real support to the customer, without replacing the customer or ever limiting the customer’s decision-making autonomy.
Supplier ecosystem: the benefits for customers and suppliers
The Supplier Ecosystem feature is a tool that provides benefits to both potential suppliers – who have the opportunity to propose their products and services in the best possible way – both to companies or entities that use the platform, who can use that data as real business tools.
The Supplier Ecosystem module, in fact:
- Allows easily comparable data to be collected
- Helps institutions make assessments from objective data
- Simplifies assessments related to new, as-yet-unknown providers
- It is a highly customizable tool that, once set up, allows for precise and specific questions to be asked of all prospective suppliers, without additional time-consuming work on the part of the contracting station
- Streamlines the work of operators, who can collect all the data they need in one place, without the need to resort to dispersive tools such as emails, phone calls, Excel sheets, and so on
- Facilitates the monitoring of the standards guaranteed by suppliers, since it makes it easier to verify that the services actually offered are in line with what was declared during registration in the Supplier Register
- Fosters the creation of virtuous operating modes in which both suppliers and customers are enabled to operate at their best
Want to know how Supplier Ecosystem can help your organization’s operations and become a tool for growth? Our experts are at your disposal: contact us now!
