| [Wakko, Yakko, & Dot] | We are the sourcing-maniacs And we’re zany to the max So just sit back and relax You’ll laugh ’til you collapse We’re sourcing-maniacs! |
| [Wakko & Yakko] | Come join the ‘Riba Brothers |
| [Dot] | And the ‘Riba Sister, Dot |
| [Wakko, Yakko, & Dot] | Just for fun we ran around the corp’rate parking lot They locked us in the boardroom whenever we got caught But let us loose from the caboose And now you know the plot! |
When we last heard from the Sourcing Maniacs, shortly after the acquisition of Procuri by Ariba, Chicken Boo had just fired all three of them. Confused and hungry, the ‘Ribas began marching northward from the Ariba corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA, on their grand adventure to find a new job. They vowed to visit every sourcing company from Aravo to Zycus, if necessary, in their quest to find a new company to whom they could provide their maniacal insight. I’m sorry to report that, unlike Pinky and the Brain (who have been quiet for quite some time now), the Sourcing Maniacs are still unemployed, but I’m happy to report that they are willing to share with the readers of this blog some of the insights they acquired in their 2008 Vendor Tour. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
| Yakko | We went to see Aravo The wizards of 2Sustain |
| Dot | We went with lots of gustavo As far as we could ascertain |
| Wakko | We heard that they were masters of SIM so we challenged them to a duel But it turns out SIM’s short for “Supplier Information Management” Not SIM City … and again I played the fool! |
| Yakko | So we asked for an explanation Of why we needed SIM |
| Wakko | And what it could do That we couldn’t do with Vim |
| Dot | And then sat down to listen |
| Wakko | Which we do so rar-i-ly |
| Dot | As Aravo’s chaps, all dressed in chaps Spun a tale of data transparency |
| Yakko | This is Yakko’s summary of the Aravo story, edited by the doctor
In the beginning there was the web. It was a wild, wild frontier where data could roam free. A virtual gold-mine, enterprise software companies staked their claim and started to build ranches to corral the data. Some of these companies, like Peoplesoft, Oracle, and SAP were successful in their efforts. Furthermore, not only could they corral the data, but they could send it through pipes from buyers to suppliers. Business-to-Business was born. Things were good in the beginning, but then the data started to mix, and like Fibonacci’s rabbits, it started to multiply out of control! More and more systems were installed to try and manage the data, but all this did was help the data spread like wildfire until, like the tribbles, it had overtaken every nook and cranny of every enterprise. Although this was a boon for BI systems that needed massive amounts of data to justify their existence, it was a bane to overworked IT administrators who couldn’t swap the backup tapes fast enough. It was an even bigger headache for supply chain professionals who couldn’t get a complete picture of what was being supplied by whom, or when it was coming. This deeply impacted their ability to strategically shape the supply chain. This wasn’t too bad in the beginning, when oil was cheap, prices were dropping, and the boom look liked it would never end, but then the globalization backlash reared its ugly head. Oil and commodity prices went through the roof, financial markets started crashing, and quality issues became rampant as contaminated toothpaste, salmonella spinach, and lead-paint toys hit stores nationwide. Was your supplier still around? Would it be around tomorrow? Was its quality control adequate? Was it still the right supplier for you? All of these questions became front and center, and couldn’t be answered without insight into all of the relvant data surrounding the supplier … data that, traditionally, was spread across multiple systems inside and outside the enterprise. Enter SIM. A SIM platform collects all of your data from all of your systems in one place, and lets you view, query, and manage all of your data on a single supplier from a single screen. How much business did you do? What did you buy? Where was it shipped from? Where did it go to? What QA processes were employed? And is the supplier current with their certifications and licenses? All of these questions can quickly and easily be answered with a SIM platform. And more importantly, it can be used as the foundation for supplier improvement and sustainability initiatives, because all of the data needed to launch and track such initiatives is at your fingertips. |
| Yakko | So all your data in one place |
| Wakko | Helps keep the egg off your face |
| Dot | And helps you make a solid plan Of who to keep and who to can |
| Yakko | It’s pretty cool, but I have to say |
| Dot | Their wordiness gets in the way |
| Wakko | From a thought that should be as simple and pure As combining your PB&J spend when you procure! |
| Dot | SIM’s just meta-data management with a flexible UI |
| Yakko | It shouldn’t be that difficult |
| Wakko | or pie in the sky |
| Dot | But you need the right framework baked in at the core |
| Yakko | Otherwise you’ll never realize |
| Wakko | that it’s not just meta-data, it’s more. |
And Aravo was just the first stop on the Sourcing Maniacs’ journey. Stay tuned for more!