Monthly Archives: November 2008

Blogger Relations Part II: Fire Your PR Company!

A few months ago, over on the Silicon Alley Insider, Jason Calacanis wrote a phenomenal post On How To Get PR For Your Startup: Fire Your PR Company. It’s the post I probably should have written for Part I of Blogger Relations. It’s that good.

Jason Calcanis, who has the best, and shortest PR philosophy I’ve ever read, says that you just need to be amazing. be everywhere. be real. It’s the last two words in particular that get my attention. Be Real. A PR firm with a lackey parroting a press release is not real. A media monkey with some sound-bites who cares more about your monthly cheque than your product is not real. A voice who never wavers from a script is not real. And, if you haven’t guessed already, I don’t give a r@ts-@ss about press releases (don’t ask me where you can put them — just don’t), sound-bites, or scripts. I care about products. I care about solutions. I care about results. And, above all, I care about openness, honesty, and a commitment to the customer. If you don’t have that, in all honesty, regardless of the size of your corporate bank account [and at this point I know I should be sticking both feet in my mouth or shooting them off with a shotgun], I don’t give a r@ts @ss about you either.

This blog is about innovation. If you’ve got that, and want to talk about it, you’ve got my attention. As Jason says, You don’t need a PR firm, you don’t need an in-house PR person and you don’t need to spend ANY money to get amazing PR. You don’t need to be connected, and you don’t need to be a “name brand.” You just need to be out there, open, honest, and willing to make a connection. That’s it. And if you don’t get it, Jason has 10 tips that you can use to do PR at your startup — or — small company, that I will summarize (and then elaborate on as it pertains to this blog), but I still strongly recommend you read Jason’s post. (Just reading it will improve your credibility factor!)

  1. Be the Brand
    Us bloggers are overworked underpaid masochists who survive on caffeine, adrenaline, supplements, and sheer stubbornness. If you’re not in love with your brand and inspired by your brand’s mission, and if you don’t *really* believe in your product on a deep, intrinsic level, it’s going to come across *immediately* to the bloggers you’re pitching and I’m going to use the call time as nap-time.
  2. Be everywhere.
    Talk to people outside your company regularly. CEO also stands for Chief Education Officer. You’re the face of your company, so show it!
  3. Always pick up the check — always!
    As Jason notes, PR Firms … who, in my view, do nothing for you … cost $5,000 to $15,000 a month. Buying dinner for a group of people at a conference ten times a year will cost you about one month’s worth of PR … and those bloggers will remember an inspired face and a dynamic voice, not a PR drone from the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. And remember, even those of us that make a few dollars from sponsorships are still relatively poor — every hour we devote to learning and spreading knowledge is another hour we’re not working or looking for work. (I’m sure I could go back to a CTO role and make twice as much. And my fellow blogger could probably make considerably more as a partner in a large consulting firm.) Just remember … we want to spread the word, but we can’t go broke doing it.
  4. Be a Human Being
    Journalists hate PR people and they hate being pitched. It’s the only thing I hate more than a company who raises the drawbridge and arms the guards. Just tell me what you’re doing, why, and what you hope to achieve … and I’ll ask the questions that need to be asked.
  5. Form a Bond
    Realize that journalists and bloggers are constantly getting banged by lazy, clueless PR folks who fire first and don’t understand what the word “aim” even means. Take the opportunity to cut to the front of the line by spending just 30 minutes researching the journalist or blogger you want to pitch. Not only is it courtesy and good manners, but it helps you understand what the journalist, or blogger, looks for and how to best convey your story … often in less time than it would take to convey your PR drone’s script! (And I make it easy for you. Check out the About post and the What Does the doctor Do? post and then a sampling of random posts.)
  6. E-mail a Journalist in Your Voice
    Journalists and bloggers are very busy and PR people are, by and large, considered an inefficiency in the system by them. (And that’s putting it nicely. I’m more likely to label them a clog.) If you say “Let’s do a call about your blog and interests and I can put you in touch with the right person …” I hear “blah blah blah … I’m a moron … blah blah blah“. If you won’t talk to me, why should I talk to you? So talk to me, and when you do, say something (intelligent). (And get bonus points if you get to the point quickly.)
  7. Speak to the Journalist Intelligently
    And find out his preferred way of getting quotes if he wants them. Call recording? Good old-fashioned note-taking? Or a (follow-up) e-mail interview where you can respond to direct questions in your own voice. Make it easy for the journalist/blogger, and chances are you’ll get preferred coverage in the future.
  8. Invite People to “Swing By”
    Your office. Your trade show booth. The lobby of the hotel you’re staying at for a business meeting. Relationships help. More than any PR Firm EVER will.
  9. Attach Your Brand to a Movement
    Welcome your competitors to the race, because no one is going to tune into a one-horse race. In other words, don’t tell me you’re the only company with a solution for X when I know damn well there are at least five other companies out there that have a solution for X. It’s okay to have a unique take on X (and if you don’t, I probably won’t cover you), but acknowledge the market you’re competing in. Bloggers HATE B.S. (Well, good bloggers anyway … )
  10. Embrace Small Media Outlets
    Jason makes two very, very good points:
      a) Small publications have more time for you
      b) Big publications troll the small publications for stories
    To which I’ll add one more, that might shock you:
      c) I am personally familiar with a number of companies that have gotten more press, more leads, and more sales as a result of a single post on Sourcing Innovation than they got by sponsoring an Analyst white-paper, than they got from buying a booth at a trade-show, and than they got from taking adds out in magazines like Purchasing. (So for all you marketing types out there, imagine for a second how well my blog, Illumination, and white-paper sponsors are doing. Just imagine.)
      Niche publications like Sourcing Innovation are the future.
    The sooner you accept it, the better off you are.

In other words, if you care about your future, keep it in your hands.

The Replicators are Coming!

Check out RepRap and then tell me something … are these guys geniuses, or are they completely bonkers? I don’t know … but I would think it would be impossible to not know about Star Trek (the Borg), StarGate (the Replicators), or the Matrix or every other variant of self-replicating automaton that exists for the sole purpose of taking over the earth, the galaxy, and, ultimately, the universe? There’s a difference between innovation and self-elimination. I’m not sure these guys get it. Your thoughts?

Sourcing Innovation Sponsorship Update

The new year is almost upon us, and with it comes new opportunities for Sourcing Innovation sponsorships, possibly the best opportunity you have to expose your brand to a wide, discerning audience of influencers and decision makers who read Sourcing Innovation on a regular, if not daily, basis.

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that:

  • Sourcing Innovation is one of the few independent blogs in the sourcing space, one of the very few blogs that posts daily, and, more importantly, one of the top two blogs, if it has not already taken over as the Top Blog. Consider some recent statistics from the external tracking engines (which are never truly accurate, but paint a picture in relative terms) for Spend Matters, Sourcing Innovation, E–Sourcing Forum, and Supply Excellence:

    Alexa (Rank) Compete (Visitors) Quantcst (Visitors) Ranking (Rank) Traffic Estimate (Hits)
    SM:    615,000 SI:  2,750 SI:  5,400 SI:  526,000 SM:  23,600
    SI:    914,000 SM:  2,690 ESF: 2,700 SM:  NA SI:  12,200
    SE:  1,658,000 SE:  1,950 SM:  NA SE:  NA SE:  NA
    ESF: 2,746,000 ESF: 1,000 SE:  NA ESF: NA ESF: NA

    NA = Not Available (typically due to not enough data, or hits, for the ranking engine to derive a relevant rating)

  • Sourcing Innovation receives thousands of unique page views every day, and an average day (in an average week) sees approximately 5,000 hits. The average visitor visits 1.5 pages a day, which means there are about 3,500 unique visitors on an average day. Most importantly, 60% of the visitors arrive directly from search engines, directories, and related sites, which means that Sourcing Innovation’s influence is far wider than “the same old crowd” showing up again and again. (Hits spike to 15,000 hits on a non-average day in a non-average week.)
  • Unlike “gossip” or “news” sites, Sourcing Innovation visitors are showing up for content — over 1000 quality posts that constitute one of the most useful aggregations of reference material in our space. Traffic to Sourcing Innovation is never driven artificially, for example with irrelevant content that has nothing to do with sourcing. Instead, people come to SI for a very simple reason: SI delivers key information that they need to do their jobs better and find solution providers who can help them.
  • Sourcing Innovation was one of the first blogs to discuss sustainability, green, risk management, the need for best-cost (and home-cost) country sourcing, and other hot-button issues, before they made the headlines — and SI will continue to stay ahead by addressing relevant issues while everyone else is catching up.

And you may not realize that:

  • Some companies have gotten more leads from a single post on Sourcing Innovation then they got from sponsored analyst white-papers, trade-show booths, and advertisements in “industry leading” publications combined. Because SI’s editor tries very hard to be fair, honest, and objective in the breadth of coverage, Sourcing Innovation remains credible where others fall short.
  • Sourcing Innovation Sponsors Get Results. I invite you to talk to those companies who have sponsored the blog, SI White-papers, and SI Illuminations. All have gotten exposure and results. And I’m sure they’d all be happy to tell you about it.
  • While the editor does his best to cover every company that is willing to engage in an open and honest dialogue on the blog, regardless of whether they are sponsors or not, sponsorship does convey huge advantages over simple coverage. Whereas most companies are lucky to get a couple of posts a year with so much to cover and so little time, your logo, especially as a lead sponsor, is seen on every page — every single day. As we all learn more about web advertising, we’re learning that the key is impressions, impressions, and more impressions — by the right audience. You want your brand to be in front of the people you need to reach, every day. Nothing is more important.

Starting in 2009, Sourcing Innovation will be offering

  • five lead sponsorship slots
    (five logos fit nicely on one page, with room to spare, and every visitor will see them)
  • associate sponsorship slots on the to-be-relaunched resource site
    (which has already acquired a number of functional and content improvements). This comes with text-link recognition on the blog sidebar, but no logo — only lead sponsors get logos in the coveted blog sidebar!
  • associate sponsorship slots on the soon to-be-launched buyer’s guide
    (more information will be forthcoming with the new year)
  • event and white-paper sponsorship opportunities on both the blog and the resource site

But the best value, at least in my view, is a lead sponsorship slot, of which two are now available. They are on a first-come, first-serve basis, so you don’t want to miss the boat; and, right now, the pricing that I locked in until the end-of-the-year is too good to miss! (I’ve been contacted by a number of companies over the last month about sponsorships for next year, and if you do what they do and wait and see, it might be too late!) So buy today, and, as a special bonus, the first two sponsors to commit to a year will get the rest of this year free.

The Sourcing Maniacs 2008 Vendor Tour Part XI: Integration Point

When we left off in our tale of the Sourcing Maniacs 2008 Vendor Tour, they had just finished meeting with the CEO of Iasta who told them all about bringing e-Sourcing to the mid-market masses and, in particular, the benefits of applying decision optimization and supplier relationship management to your sourcing process. We catch up with the maniacs in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The post is a little lengthy, so I’ve again broken it up into parts; Interlude and Integration (which contains the content).

Interlude

Wakko Faster, faster!
Dot Go! Go! Go!
Yakko Floor it!
For the sake of clarity, I should point out that the maniacs are currently at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway watching the cars take practice laps in preparation for their next race.
Wakko Do you think I can take one for a lap?
Dot Given your penchant for mischief, I’d be surprised if they’d even take you for a lap in the 2-seater experience.
Wakko Why not?
Yakko What happens every time you drive fast?
Wakko I tend to crash on occasion.
Yakko I didn’t hear you!
Wakko I usually wreck the car.
Yakko So do you think they’re going to let you take a mulit-million dollar piece of precision equipment for a spin?
Wakko solemnly
No.
Yakko Now that that’s settled, ready to move on?
Dot Where next?
Wakko I thought you said it was eSourcing Place now?
Dot glares at Wakko.
Yakko Well, we’re on the I’s and the doctor strongly suggested that we check out this place called Integration Point.
Dot Where are they?
Yakko North Carolina.
Wakko Sweet Home Carolina
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Carloina
I’m coming home to you
Dot Don’t you mean Sweet Home Alabama?
Wakko Yakko said Carolina!
Dot But …
Wakko Works, don’t it?
Dot Yes …
Wakko Okay, then!

Sweet Home Carolina
Where the skies are so blue

Yakko & Wakko Sweet Home Carloina
I’m coming home to you
Dot, reluctantly, joins in
Yakko, Wakko, & Dot Here I come, Carolina!
  We catch up with the maniacs a few days later.
Dot Are we here?
Wakko reaching for his mini-mallet
I’ll check!
but before Wakko can tap-tap-tap, the door opens … a woman, who appears to be dressed like a marketing-type executive, answers
Marketing Executive Oh. Sorry. Can I help you?
Dot Is this Integration Point?
Marketing Executive Yes it is.
Dot What do you integrate?
Marketing Executive Now that’s a strange question. Who are you?
Dot I’m Dot.
Yakko And I’m Yakko. And that fella over there …
pointing to Wakko who has decided to bonk himself on the head with the mini-mallet, presumably in disappointment in not getting to use it on the door
is Wakko.
Marketing Executive I can see that. Is he okay? Do I need to get help?
Dot Oh, he’s fine. Don’t worry about him.
Marketing Executive Dot. Yakko. Wakko. Why do those names sound familiar?
Yakko & Dot We’re the sourcing maniacs!
Marketing Executive guarded
Oh. Well …
pause
we don’t have any open positions right now. Sorry. Have a nice day.
she starts to close the door … obviously, she’s heard of the maniacs and their antics
Dot Wait. We’re not hear for jobs, unless you have them.
Marketing Executive Then what are you hear for?
Wakko who has grown bored of his mini-mallet
Knowledge!
Marketing Executive I can see that you could certainly use some!
Yakko We want to know what you do and why it’s important.
Marketing Executive Why us?
Yakko the doctor said you’d broaden our horizons!
Marketing Executive Well
glancing at Wakko
I don’t think that will be too hard!
Dot So will you tell us what you integrate?
Marketing Executive If you’re sure you want to broaden your horizons. They say ignorance is bliss, and
glancing back at Wakko
it seems to me that he likes his blissful state of ignorance.
Yakko & Dot We want to broaden our horizons!
Yakko And you can ignore Wakko.
Dot Everyone else does.
Marketing Executive OK.
Looking sternly at Wakko. But the construction tools stay in your backpack. Got it?

Integration

Dot So what do you integrate?
Marketing Executive I think you misunderstand what we do. We’re not your run of the mill software development or consulting shop … we don’t “integrate” anything, except data.

Let me ask you this, how much do you know about global trade?

Dot You call up your supplier in China, tell him you’d like 20,000 DVD players, and then call up your 3PL to handle the delivery to your warehouse. Easy-peasy!
Marketing Executive Are you sure?
Dot What do you mean?
Marketing Executive What about government regulations? Import and export classifications? Duties and Tariffs? Consignment? Free and Secure Trade Zones?
Dot Aren’t regulations the supplier’s problem?
Yakko And don’t the suppliers know the classifications?
Dot And doesn’t the supplier just add the tax?
Yakko And doesn’t the 3PL take care of consignment …
Dot and the free and secure trade zones?
Marketing Executive No, not necessarily, maybe sales tax and VAT, not always, and definitely not.

Regulations are your problem. You’re the one taking ownership, you’re the one trying to import the goods, and you’re the one who’s going to sell them. You’re the one who has to make sure that the goods meet material and quality regulations, or face the consequences.

The supplier might know the right export code, and the supplier might not. But it’s definitely your responsibility that the right (HTS) import code is utilized. Otherwise, you could face huge losses if the wrong code is used and the tarriff is higher, or huge fines if the wrong code is used and the tarriff paid is lower than it should be. Your 3PL might be able to help you, but proper classification is ultimately your responsibility.

Identification of the appropriate duties and tariffs, and prompt payment, is ultimately your responsibility.

And whether or not you consign goods, and when you do it, is totally up to you.

As is the determination of whether or not you use free or secured trade zones in an effort to take advantage of what they have to offer.

Are you at least familiar with the basic Global Trade Import Cycle and Export Cycles?

Dot The Global Trade What-Now?
Marketing Executive You say the doctor sent you. Didn’t you at least take the time to read his introductory wiki-papers on Global Trade, Customs & Security, Free Trade, and Regulatory Compliance?
Dot Uhm … no. Were they important?
Marketing Executive Very. And they’d help you better understand what we do.
Dot Which is?
Marketing Executive Global Trade Data Management solutions that help customers with import management, export management, free trade zones, compliance, and other aspects of global trade.

Our solutions, which are web-based and true SaaS, help suppliers with classification; advance notification (as required by 10 + 2); denied party screening; free trade zones, foreign trade zones, and special economic zones; customs warehousing; AEO, C-TPAT, and PIP; free trade agreements; and import/export safety.

If you understand the cycle, you understand that there are significant documentary requirements at each stage. These documentary requirements can only be fulfilled with good, up-to-date data. Our systems maintain that data and help you with the creation and, where possible, the electronic transmission of the forms you need to the required parties — which include your supplier, your 3PL or import/export broker, and various government agencies. And, to go bo back to your “what we integrate” question, we can also integrate with a wide range of ERP (and competitor trade platforms) to pull the data you need for form creation out of your ERP and then push the data your missing back into your ERP for archival purposes.

Dot So you generate e-paper?
Marketing Executive Sort of. In terms you can understand, we generate e-paper that keeps you compliant. How much do you know about 10 + 2?
Wakko 10 + 2 = 12?
Marketing Executive It’s the new secure freight initiative from the US Government that requires a more detailed Security Filing that is being dubbed the “10+2” because it requires 10 data elements from the importer and 2 data elements from the carrier that must be electronically filed 24 hours prior to loading cargo onto a shipping vessel ultimately bound for the US. And it’s a doozy. Besides the fact that some estimates believe that it might cost importers 690 Million annually to implement, there’s the little caveat that if the principal fails to comply with the proposed Importer Security Filing requirements, the principal and surety (jointly and severally) would pay liquidated damages equal to the value of the merchandise involved in the default. So, if you’re importing a 1 Million dollar shipment, and you screw up, that’s a 1 Million dollar fine.
Dot That’s a lifetime of Prada bags!
Marketing Executive giving Dot a strange look
At least!
Marketing Executive And how much do you know about REACH? WEEE? RoHS? ELV?
Yakko What now?
Marketing Executive REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, WEEE: Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, RoHS: Restriction Of Hazardous Substances, and ELV: End of Life Vehicles. The European directives that specify what can, and more importantly, can’t be in products you want to import into the EU. Failure to comply can result in seizure and destruction of your entire shipment.
Yakko But that’s just in the EU, right?
Marketing Executive For now. But similar acts, especially with regards to RoHS, are popping up all around the globe in countries like India, China, and Korea, for starters.
Yakko But China’s the biggest user of coal. Why would they care about electronics?
Marketing Executive A few grams of certain metals and chemicals, which are restricted or banned by acts like RoHS and REACH, in old electronics equipment can contaminate over a million litres of ground water!
Yakko Wow!
Marketing Executive And even the third world countries are trying to clean up their acts these days. But back to topic. These aren’t the only compliance directives out there … different countries, and sometimes even industries, have their own. Our product can track any product-specific data you like, compare it to the regulatory requirements of major acts that we track, and even allow you to add your own industry or company specific regulatory requirements to compare the product data to. This helps you maintain compliance and, more importantly, helps you to avoid large fines and stay out of the headlines.
Wakko So your product helps companies get a complete view of their global operations from a regulatory and compliance perspective?
Marketing Executive stunned (since no one really expects Wakko to listen)
Yes.
Wakko Cool!
So, can we go get some pulled-pork now? I’m hungry!
Yakko stunned (since he usually asks for baloney)
Uhm, sure!
Dot I guess we have to go now. Thanks for the insight. I never knew global trade was so involved.
  And with that, the maniacs take their leave.

At this point, we take another short break in our story.

Perform-IS BizNet

About the same time the maniacs were back in Massacheusetts, scarfing down Boston Cream Pies, I got a call from BizNet asking if I’d be interested in reviewing their SPM solution, which is one of the leading SRM solutions used in the Oil & Gas industry.

My first thought was to send the maniacs, since they were doing such a good job in their Summer Road Tour, but the conversation (over a cell phone; which can be skipped by clicking here), which did not go well, went something like this:

   
Yakko Yakko’s Yummy Yuletide Eggnogs … you shiver, we deliver!
the doctor Yakko, it’s the doctor. How’s the road trip going!
Yakko Great. We’ve learned a lot this summer. Just a few days ago at Vinimaya we learned all about the power of B2B 3.0 Content Management …
the doctor So you’re in the North East …
Yakko Yep. Just outside of Boston at the moment …
the doctor Great! Put me on speakerphone.
click
Sourcing Maniacs, your mission, if you choose to accept it …
you have to be dramatic to keep their attention sometimes
is to review BizNet’s PerforMIS solution and let me know how good it is for SPM, particularly in the Oil & Gas sector where they appear to be market leaders, at least on a market-share basis.
Dot Supplier Performance Management?
the doctor That’s right, Dot.
Wakko I like managing suppliers!
Yakko Sounds like we’re interested. Where are they?
the doctor Belfast.
Yakko No problem. That’s just one state over!
the doctor Not Belfast, Maine, Belfast, Ireland. It’s just a short flight from Boston …
Yakko Sorry, doc. No can do.
the doctor Why not?
Yakko See, there’s this little thing called the No-Fly List …
the doctor What did you do now, Yakko?
Yakko It’s not so much as what I did, but what Wakko did …
Wakko How was I supposed to know I wasn’t allowed to dress up as a marine when flying on Halloween …
the doctor Well, as long as you don’t impersonate one …
Yakko You don’t understand, doctor. He had real knives, real guns, real bullets … the costume was so authentic the screech let out by metal detector shattered nearby windows …
the doctor Oh. You could charter a boat.
Dot That would take three weeks!
the doctor You could do a European tour!
Wakko Been there. Done that. And I’m not sure they’ll let me back into Switzerland …
the doctor Wakko, I don’t want to hear it. I can’t understand how you could possibly get banned from Switzerland, but I know I don’t want to hear it. So it’s a no-go?
Yakko Not this time, doc.
Background Voice Your pie, sir.
Yakko Gotta go!
click

So, I decided to get on the phone, and the web, and review the solution myself. Here’s what I found out.

BizNet has been in business for 11 years, and has been focussing on the Oil & Gas sector for the last 8 years. Starting out as a custom developer and integrator, they found that a significant need at many of their client companies was Supplier Performance Management, so a few years ago they set out to build a solution. After releasing an early version of the platform, their suspicions as to the dire need for supplier performance management solutions was confirmed and from that day on they decided to focus almost exclusively on data (through their capit@l product) and Supplier Performance Management.

Their solution is built to enable their version of the “SPM Loop” which is actually a double-helix that starts and ends with supplier engagement in a continuous cycle. Thus, in addition to being able to define and track user-defined KPIs in a very flexible fashion, a user can also create and manage corrective action plans; produce standard, ad-hoc, and customized reports that are meaningful to them and their supplier; and capture performance data on-line from the web.

The KPI builder is quite powerful. A wizard-based formula-builder, it allows you to build any KPI you want using all standard arithmatic operators (+, -, *, /, root, exp, etc.) and any numeric data fields that the system is tracking. KPIs are reported using the now-standard green-yellow-red traffic light signals (or, green-amber-red if you’re across the pond) in basic reports, and can also be displayed in a geographical KPI map with mouse-over pop-ups of rolled up scores by supplier, product line, or date range.

The product can be hosted on-site or used as a SaaS product, which is the way it was designed to be deployed by default, and the BizNet team, with their combined decades of experience working with enterprise systems in the Oil & Gas industry, can link it into your ERP and AP systems so that data can be pulled in automatically, sometimes “out of the box” if you’re using a standard ERP such as SAP or JD Edwards. They’re currently looking at ways to pull financial data in from external entities, such as D&B, to augment the overall supplier picture that the system creates, as this helps you with risk management, and they support standard XML formats for data interchange.

The system is scorecard-based, as you would expect; supports automated e-mail task and new report availability reminders; supports customizable workflows with multi-level approvals to insure that scorecards are created, reviewed, and monitored; supports extensive reporting capabilities; and supports an extensive scorecard hierarchy. You can break a scorecard down by division, location, etc. to as many levels as you want, by supplier, and then rollup at each level to calculate overall performance by city, province, country, and globally, for example. And you can use its dynamic filters to determine which suppliers fall into user-defined ranges — such as very poor, poor, satisfactory, good, and excellent — overall or by KPI category — such as quality, logistics, innovation, etc.

One of the more unique features of the tool that caught my attention was the Supplier Risk Management Component which allows you to define risks, probabilities, and impacts and then map risks on an impact vs. probability basis by supplier. You can then use dynamic filters to determine, across the board, the risks in each category. This will help you in risk planning, since you should be starting with the high probability and high impact risks first and working your way down.

The tool was definitely built to support an industry with complex SPM needs, and since no O&G specific language or processes were hardcoded into the tool (and just about everything is configurable or customizable), it should also serve similar industries quite well. In fact, BizNet have indicated that they’ve started to see some uptake in the Health Care Sector, which also have to carefully manage supplier performance to manage risk, and expect that they will be doing more deployments in that sector as well as time goes on.

So, if you’re in the market for an SPM tool, and you have complex requirements, I’d recommend checking BizNet out. As one of the few companies that just does SPM, and not SPM as an afterthought to sourcing or procurement, they have quite a robust solution. It might be overkill for some commodity-based industries that just have to track quality or traceability, but with risk-levels rising across the board, I doubt that there will be many companies that won’t be interested in using such a tool to its full potential.