Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Software

The globalized world has pressured companies from all sectors to connect with a multitude of other companies to build their products and services. Today, any company partners with various suppliers to ensure the supply of goods, services and materials necessary for its operations. These relationships create a network of interconnected companies that depend on each other to function, but which can be difficult to manage.

What is SRM software?

This is exactly why supplier relationship management software exists: to help companies deal with the complexities of working with multiple suppliers. SRM software centralizes all information related to suppliers: current brand relationship, contact information, services and products, associated risks and past performance. This way, people using the SRM platform can easily access relevant data to better monitor their supply chain.

Why is SRM important?

Having the ability to handle relevant data in an easy and flexible way has become a must for companies of all sizes and in different sectors. This is because data can help understand the public, detect business opportunities, identify problems and increase productivity. Naturally, the wide variety of data types has forced companies to look for specialized solutions that allow better management of each type of data.

In this context, SRM platforms are a great ally for those dealing with supply relationship management. This is because this software allows companies to consolidate data relating to all their suppliers in a central hub. The SRM platform thus guarantees the availability of data, while at the same time providing sufficient functionalities to analyze the information that can lead to a better relationship with suppliers.

Benefits of using SRM platforms include:

• Increased data availability for all SRM users
• In-depth analysis of supplier performance
• Extended data accessibility across multiple devices
• Greater data security
• Detailed reports on issues and opportunities for improvement

All of these benefits highlight why SRM platforms are important in today's business environment: they provide powerful capabilities for dealing with suppliers, essential for any company.

Supplier Relationship Management Tools

Given the importance of supplier relationship management, it is not surprising that there are multiple tools and platforms available to handle such an important practice. That's why you can search online and find many feature-packed SRM platforms to make supplier relationship management easier.

Some of the largest SRM tool providers include:

• Oracle
• SAP
• Microsoft
• IBM
• Avecast
• NeoGrid

All of these companies offer powerful SRM platforms that can accommodate different needs. This is why you need to take a look at the commercially available SRM solutions offered by these companies before choosing one. To choose the one that best meets your business needs, you need to consider several aspects, including the complexity of your supply chain, the number of users, and the level of reporting detail you want.

Additionally, it is important to mention that off-the-shelf SRM platforms may not be the best solution for you. This can happen when your supply chain is extremely complex or when you need to integrate SRM with different tools and platforms within your digital infrastructure. If this is the case for you, then custom supplier relationship management development is what you need. By hiring a company that specializes in SRM development, you can be assured that the resulting platform will integrate seamlessly with your technology stack and processes.

What are the key features of supplier relationship management software?

Although each SRM software is different, there are essential features that are common to most of them, as they target the basic tasks of supplier relationship management. They include the following:

1. Supplier data management: An SRM can handle everything related to document storage, supplier registration, supplier data synchronization, and data tracking.
2. Supplier risk management: SRM typically integrates capabilities for real-time risk mitigation and monitoring, automatic alerts, and regulatory compliance checks.
3. Contract management: These platforms are ideal for managing supplier lists, tracking purchase orders and execution, and automating the process of matching important documents.
4. Supplier selection: SRM applications have built-in options for evaluating potential suppliers, approving sourcing events, and even creating comparisons between companies.
5. Supplier performance management: Through an SRM platform you will have access to a comprehensive panel where you can control supplier activity and analyze their performance based on different metrics.
6. Supplier contract management: These tools also allow you to track the status of all supplier contracts, set up automatic contract renewals based on different criteria, and create contract templates.
7. Supplier Portal: SRMs provide an overview of your supply chain through which you will see all the data, shared files and feedback from your suppliers.
8. Cost management: SRM platforms provide you with the tools you need to control your supply chain expenses, allowing you to set cost limits while giving you options to analyze how much you spend in real time.

BairesDev Implementation of the SRM Software Process

This all depends on our complete SRM implementation process, which has well-defined steps to lead you to success:

Review #1

We discuss your SRM project to better understand your goals and needs. Here, we begin to develop an integration plan.

#2 Planning

Using what we learned in the assessment phase, we plan the integration considering several factors, including the type of vendor capabilities you need, the out-of-the-box solution you want (if any), and your intended outcomes.

#3 Integration

After you agree to the plan, we start working on integration with your digital infrastructure. Here, we will carefully implement SRM, connecting it to data sources and other tools that expand the platform's offerings.

#4 Launch

After we go through the implementation phase and corresponding testing steps, we will launch the platform in your company. We'll help you train your team and explain the features and benefits.

Support and maintenance

Using an SRM platform can create problems in your infrastructure. To prevent it from snowballing, we'll help you monitor and maintain the platform so you can take advantage of all its features.

Start your SRM project today!

Our SRM engineering team is ready to help you with your project and take your supply chain management to the next level. Are you ready to do this?