Category Archives: Best Practices

iValua: Proving Their Mettle with Source to Settle, Part IV

In Parts I through III, we noted that when we last covered iValua in 2010, they were one of the few providers tackling end-to-end sourcing and procurement in a single suite of integrated modules built on one common platform. We noted in Tackling End-to-End Sourcing and Procurement, Part I that this French company had capabilities that, at least to some degree, addressed each of the core phases of the basic sourcing-and-procurement cycle except decision optimization and tax reclamation. Since then, they have added advanced tax tracking capability, and a boatload of other features that include SIM/SPM, Risk Management, Project Management, Enhanced Analytics, and Extensive UI customization. Today, we will continue our coverage of the platform, which includes modules for Supplier Management, Sourcing, Contract Management, Catalog Management Procurement, Invoice Management, Expense Management, and Reporting that were covered in Parts I through III; and Administration that will be covered today as we wrap up the series.

Administration

Administration is very extensive in the iValua platform. Administrative users can manage users, tables, workflows, reporting indicators, units of measure, currency, alerts, menu options, content, templates (for RFX and Auctions), import, scheduled processes, notifications, (re)assignments, and information sources (as the platform can pull in RSS and XML feeds from various web sources for display on the dashboard).

The ability to define arbitrary data tables and import the data for analysis into the system is quite powerful. It makes the built-in analytics capability much more useful as the data can be augmented and enriched to also include data from the payment platform, third party supplier assessments, and optimization events conducted external to the iValua system. A classic limitation of many Sourcing and Procurement systems was the inability to import arbitrary data not accounted for in the existing schema. The iValua platform took a best practice from leading spend analysis platforms and made sure a user could import whatever data she needed anywhere in the supported source-to-settle process. The ETL screen is comparable to an advanced version of Microsoft Excel import (familiar to every Microsoft Office User) that allows the user to define the first line index and last import row, column and line separators, text qualifiers, encodings, and field template (that defines the fields and their names). The user can also define how long the data should be kept (and throw-away one-time analysis data or archive payment data indefinitely), who can see it, and what modules, plans, or anomalies the data should be associated with.

Design Mode

Design Mode is a new capability in the iValua platform that allows a user to dynamically redesign the layout of their menus, screens, and dashboard widgets. Each user can customize the look and feel of the application in a way that makes them most productive using simple drag-and-drop and checklist-based / mouse-click component and option selection. It is quite slick. It also allows iValua to customize a configuration for a new client extremely rapidly based upon the particular needs of the different users of the application.

In summary, the iValua is a very extensive Source-To-Settle platform and an extremely viable option for a mid-size or large organization that is looking to update their sourcing and procurement capabilities in an integrated end-to-end source to settle platform. It is especially suited to a multi-national that has to operate in a significant number of countries and languages as iValua, which already supports 15 different languages, is used daily by more than 150K users and 500K suppliers in over 70 countries.

Which Ideas Should You Have Stolen in 2013? Part III

Back in January, Stores Magazine wrote an article on “20 Ideas Worth Stealing in 2013” that had some ideas worth stealing by your Supply Management and Marketing organizations. But were they all worth stealing?

These articles sounded good on the surface, and were also good when you dug in. SI would definitely recommend stealing these ideas if you haven’t already:

  • Engage the Whole Customer
    Don’t just focus on products or services – create a blend that meets the customer’s needs with a single solution. If necessary, create an optimized, servitized supply chain.
  • Bring Catalogs to Life
    Leading Supply Management organizations integrate catalogs into their e-Procurement systems in smart ways that allow buyers to find the contracted items that meets their needs and acquire them effortlessly and that help Sales and Marketing acquire the technological solutions that will give customers access to leading, virtual, catalog technology for the end consumer that will highlight the benefits and features of the products being sourced for sale.
  • Turn Pins into Purchases
    For an organizational user making a purchase of a contracted item through the e-Procurement catalog, it should be as easy as pinning a photo on Pinterest. Similarly, the shopping cart technology on the organization’s e-Commerce website should be as easy to use.
  • Reward Smart Choices
    It’s not short term savings that matter, but long term value generation. Spending a dollar today to save two tomorrow is just good sense if you want the organization to be around for the long-haul. Don’t be afraid to tell Wall Street where to go. Their short-term focus is doing irreparable harm to the economy.
  • Invest in the Community
    Invest in supply management organizations, research institutes, and educational programs that will train your staff and advance the state of the discipline as well as investing in sustainable community programs that will benefit your customers.
  • Location Apps, Location Apps, Location Apps
    At any given point in time, you need to know approximately where your product is. You need this visibility as you need to know as soon as possible that you are not going to get that shipment on time unless you take action. It’s pointless to provide a consumer with a mobile set and product tracking if you can’t even ship the product.

So, in the end, thirteen (13) of the ideas were quite good and may even stand the test of time. Get implementing!

Which Ideas Should You Have Stolen in 2013? Part II

Back in January, Stores Magazine wrote an article on “20 Ideas Worth Stealing in 2013” that had some ideas worth stealing by your Supply Management and Marketing organizations. But were they all worth stealing?

These articles sounded good on the surface, and were good when you dug in. SI would definitely recommend stealing these ideas if you haven’t already:

  • Meld Physical with Virtual
    This makes a lot of sense. Physical flows should be managed by virtual SaaS supply chain solutions that manage the information flow end to end. And wherever possible, technology that helps the consumer should be integrated into the process as well.
  • Healthy Choices
    In 2010 the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that 35.7% of adults are obese and 17% of children are obese in America. It’s just the right thing to do. And if you really want to be healthy, push GMO out of your supply chain. Just because you can splice DNA from completely unrelated organisms doesn’t mean you should. We still don’t know what the long term effects of GMO are. For starters, there was a time when lactose and gluten intolerance was rare. Now it’s common. That correlation is too hard to ignore. Plus the increase in cancer rates in countries heavily reliant on GMO food. It’s just an unnecessary risk.
  • Right-Size the Footprint
    It’s all about lean and sustainability. No waste, no unnecessary drain on the environment.
  • Add Zing to Rewards
    Whether it is for consumers to drive loyalty to your brand, or for your employees to encourage greater drive towards success, zing helps.
  • A Wink and a Nod Toward Innovation
    Innovation is key, but sometimes the only way to succeed if it’s new to you is to take baby steps.
  • Seniors as a Featured Attraction
    All too often, experienced personnel are pushed into early retirement in short-sighted corporate efforts to reduce costs. All this does is push experience and wisdom out the door. Experience and wisdom need to be retained. New employees bring new energy, methods, and technology — but without experience and wisdom to guide the proper implementation, it will be wasted energy, methods, and technology. So focus on the wise inside and outside of your organization and you might find that your potential soars.
  • Flexible Format
    As market and supply chain conditions change, you need the ability to adapt.

So, were these all of the ideas that were good? Come back tomorrow to learn more.

Which Ideas Should You Have Stolen in 2013? Part I

Back in January, Stores Magazine wrote an article on “20 Ideas Worth Stealing in 2013” that had some ideas worth stealing by your Supply Management and Marketing organizations. But were they all worth stealing?

Even though they sounded good on the surface, SI would not have recommended stealing these ideas:

  • Offer More Options
    While it might help a new startup break into the market, options add complexity, complexity adds cost, and unless you are serving the luxury marketplace, your corporate sustainability could be put at risk. And SI is not too fond of unnecessary shipping of product back and forth – that’s just not green.
  • Picture Success
    A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you need the words – in particular, you need the strategic transformation plan to get there, whether we are talking about a new marketing initiative or a new Supply Management initiative.
  • Social Crowd-Sourcing
    Offering progressive discounts against unknown inventory might get attention in the consumer world, but it also risks creating unhappy customers if you greatly underestimate demand. Similarly, how long would you deal with a supplier who would never commit to a price or an inventory level? Especially if you valued your CBI insurance!
  • Place Ad Here
    While using existing programming may sound like a good idea to get your message out in the Marketing world, you risk alienating your customers that do not want to be exposed to advertising in the few aspects of their lives that are still free from advertising. And there is no equivalent in Supply Management that would make any sense at all.
  • Quality Facebook Time
    Facebook is the New Egypt. We don’t need to go back in time thousands of years to when civilization was just learning to preserve its accomplishments for posterity. ‘Nuff said.
  • Friends Helping Friends
    If you don’t know what you need, then you shouldn’t be making a purchase. Period. This is a ridiculous idea.
  • Bring the Runway to the Consumer
    If you suspect demand is going to be high, and that consumers are not going to want to wait long, then don’t advertise your product until you know what the fulfillment date will be. It’s that simple. There’s a point where acceleration becomes so fast that consumers and suppliers can’t keep up. Remember that.

So, were all the ideas bad? No. Come back tomorrow to learn more.