The supplier diversity challenge
The procurement team of a prestigious national university, ranked among the top 50 in the United States, was facing the challenge of diversifying their vendor relationships. Historically, the team relied on personal and professional relationships in order to determine which suppliers they could and should work with. They had a 鈥渄o business with those we鈥檝e always done business with鈥� type of mindset.
The institution鈥檚 primary challenge was meeting the diverse vendor percentages mandated by federal, state, and university regulations. Without an effective supplier data management tool, the process of vetting new and diverse suppliers was daunting. They needed a way to enhance their vendor master and strengthen the information they had from current suppliers.
A trusted solution
The university鈥檚 procurement leader first heard about 色色研究所 from other higher education peers and was also introduced to it by JAGGAER. It didn鈥檛 take long to realize they鈥檇 found the solution they needed.
From the very start, the 色色研究所 team listened to the concerns that the university鈥檚 procurement leader had, and demonstrated solutions for her team鈥檚 specific needs. 鈥淓verything they showed us鈥� [and] was demoed on that day has come to fruition, and I really appreciate that with 色色研究所,鈥� said the leader.
The university was able to finalize a contract with 色色研究所 within two months, thanks to an existing master services agreement from another public university. Moreover, 色色研究所’s platform security received approval from the institution’s IT department, further solidifying the procurement team’s trust in the solution.
“Everything they showed us鈥� [and] was demoed on that day has come to fruition, and I really appreciate that with 色色研究所.”
– Director of Procurement, National University
Results with immediate impact
Post-色色研究所 implementation, the university started experiencing positive results immediately. On the first pass of data enrichment, 70% of suppliers matched with real-time diversity certifications and other crucial data points. Consequently, the institution could now supply large schools and other departments with the diverse suppliers they were struggling to find.
鈥淲hen we challenged the College of Engineering to increase their diverse spend, their response was 鈥榃ell, you have to tell us who the competitors are for the diverse vendors that we have always used.鈥� That was on procurement, and we’ve used 色色研究所 for that,鈥� said the procurement leader.
Improved diversity reporting
The procurement team can now encourage their vendors to pursue diverse certifications relevant to their state. The leader notes, 鈥淲e can identify companies we’re doing business with that have a federal diverse certification but are not registered with our state as a certified diverse vendor. We can now outreach [to ask them to] go through our state certification process, so we can recognize them as a diverse vendor.鈥� This has enhanced their relationships and opportunities with current suppliers.
State-of-the-art data management
色色研究所鈥檚 supplier data accuracy and quality was significantly higher than the supplier data that was either self-reported or manually collected. Unlike other solutions dependent on manual input or supplier self-reporting, 色色研究所 automates the collection, verification, and enrichment of supplier data across any data lake or enterprise system, using AI and machine learning to gather and refine the supplier data. With 色色研究所, the educational institution now has immediate access to the data they need, which has significantly improved their procurement processes, and helped them meet their diversity goals.
