Risk solution specialist Inoxico has signed an exclusive supplier data verification agreement with Supply Chain Network (SCNet).
The partnership puts Inoxico’s data cleansing and verification services firmly in the SCNet engine room, driving the vetting and scoring of member organisations.
Great opportunities for SMEs
SCNet’s purpose-built procurement portal, Supply Chain Network, is powered by Absa in collaboration with key alliance partners Shanduka Blackpages, Cape Chamber of Commerce, the Small Enterprise Development Agency and a growing list of blue chip corporate partners.
Intended as a mechanism to facilitate business connections for SMEs – and stimulate important economic and employment growth in Africa – SCNet’s member companies are required to demonstrate their ability to deliver against required procurement targets as well as satisfy specific compliance requirements.
“The exposure we provide to qualified SMEs to tenders and RFQs they might otherwise be excluded from is a key benefit of the portal,” says SCNet director Malcolm Farrell. “But we also address the risk factor associated with small to mid-size businesses.”
Less risk for procurement professionals
According to Inoxico Customer Solutions Developer, Schalk van der Merwe, more and more companies are being compelled by Enterprise Development initiatives and B-BBEE regulations to intensify their dealings with SMEs. Although this is critical for future economic growth in SA, the risk of supplier non-compliance and poor performance is definitely greater when dealing with SMEs compared to dealing with large well established corporates.
“SCNet’s member take-on incorporates stringent vetting processes as well as a scoring mechanism whereby buyers can evaluate potential SME partners according to common compliance and performance criteria such as B-BBEE qualifications, tax compliance and trading references. This verification of critical information helps mitigate risk significantly,” explains van der Merwe.
Creating trust and transparency
“We realise that for corporates, knowledge is an important enabler, particularly in those areas of the business that historically have relied heavily upon trust and bias,” adds van der Merwe. “This collaboration between SCNet and Inoxico will generate trustworthy information and provide much-needed peace of mind to those procurement professionals who are ultimately creating important growth and development opportunities.”
World class data and an intuitive approach to risk management make Inoxico the ideal intelligence partner. “We are uniquely positioned to offer the largest variety of intelligence through our dedicated commercial database – the only one of its kind in South Africa. As this portal matures and vetting criteria evolves, we will look to adding further value through richer insights around conflict of interest and predictive analytics of supplier behaviour,” concludes van der Merwe.
In addition to its own procurement portal, SCNet has also customised portals for several South African corporates including organisations such as PPC and AngloGold Ashanti.