SCRM maturity
Steve explains that there are some nuances in implementing SCRM software depending on the industry. There could be differences in data security, data sources, and so forth. The biggest difference, he explains, is supply chain risk management maturity.
“The scope of the implementation, generally speaking, is the same across customer and industry. Where it becomes a bit different is the level of maturity of that customer’s supply chain risk management or SCRM program.
“Some customers have a very mature understanding of SCRM. Others are less familiar with what supply chain risk management is. In that case, we will start with the basics to help them understand what it means to have an SCRM program.
“One of the benefits of working with the professional services team is that we bring experience to the table in terms of best practices. But by and large, we’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, which is to build a strong foundation for their SCRM program.”
Segmenting Your Suppliers
To successfully launch your SCRM program using the crawl, walk, run approach you need to segment your suppliers. Steve offers some advice on how companies can determine which suppliers should be in scope for phase 1 of the implementation.
Low spend vs high revenue impact
“Some customers will come to the table thinking they need to use the 80/20 rule. That’s in relation to spend, that 20% of your suppliers will make up 80% of your spend. There’s one small problem with that. The biggest spend suppliers are not necessarily the ones that can upend your sales.
“Everybody remembers the chip shortage. Chips are only a few bucks, right? Spend is low, but the revenue impact is high. So, you also want to look at low spend materials that could have a high revenue impact. You want to include those as well.
Long lead times
“Another issue is lead times. There may be some materials that you source that have very long lead times, and it’s very hard to qualify alternate suppliers. You’ll want to make sure you’re monitoring those for their risk.”
Single source suppliers
“There are a small number of materials where you’ve sent out requests or RFPs across the globe for suppliers to build, I’ll say a fuel quantity indicator for your jet. And after you received all of the responses back, there’s only one supplier on the entire planet that has the exact capabilities. That’s what we refer to as a sole source supplier.
“There’s a lot of risk in that. It doesn’t mean you want to leave that supplier, because you need them. But that level of risk needs to be monitored, and it needs to be paid attention to. That’s another supplier type where you would bring that particular data set into the platform.”
Critical goods and raw materials
“Let’s say you make ice cream. So here, we want to make sure we’re monitoring our milk providers because that milk may go into seventeen different brands, right. If you can’t get strawberries, for example, you can’t make strawberry ice cream for a month. That’s not great, but it is not as bad. If I can’t get the milk, then my entire company is shut down.”
From Implementing Everstream Analytics to Value Realization
Customers get access to the Everstream Analytics platform during the implementation phase, generally within a few days after signing their contract.
“During implementation, we train and support you in uploading your supplier data, we’ll add access for your team members to the platform, and we configure and fine tune the features to match your requirements.
“This is followed by one month of hyper-care where our team monitors the platform , manages your feedback, and ensures a smooth transition to your Value Realization Manager.
At the end of that period, Steve transitions the customer’s support to a Value Realization Manager, who takes responsibility for helping the customer achieve long-term ROI.
“After implementation is completed, we have a process to transition you over to your value realization manager. The foundation of the house has been laid down. The value realization manager now takes over help you build the house.
“Implementation must ensure that the foundation has been laid properly. Our goal is to set you up for success and to ensure your enterprise realizes value from the platform and from the SCRM program.”
Working with People and Solving Problems
One of the most enjoyable parts of his job, says Steve, is solving problems, and working with people.
“People who know me will tell you that I enjoy working on big problems and resiliency at a corporation is a big problem. I also enjoy onboarding customers, which means my job doesn’t get stale because personalities are different.
“I get to start fresh every few months because I get new customers every few months. And then because I’ve done so many over the years, I get to share my experience with the next new customer and say: Hey, look, I had a customer do that and it worked, so do it. Or I had several customers that tried to do that, and it all fell flat. You might want to rethink that. We’ve been very successful doing it our way for a very long time, so follow our lead. We know how to build good SCRM programs.”
Steve is a strong advocate for face-to-face engagement with customers. He sees it as a differentiator for Everstream Analytics.
“The other aspect I really enjoy is going out to meet our customers. You build much stronger relationships in person than you could by only meeting on video calls. Everstream is a very big proponent of spending time with customers, and we do a very good job at that. We care. We build relationships.”
