Here’s a question for you: how long does it take for you to onboard your supply chain partners? Moreover, is that speed acceptable to you—are you experiencing costly disruptions because the process is taking too long?
Read on to learn how and why to speed up B2B supply partner onboarding to reduce disruptions and ensure your business operations run smoothly.
Why Speed Up B2B Supply Partner Onboarding?
Before we delve into the “how” of speeding up B2B supply partner onboarding, let’s explore the “why.”
At many large firms, it can take between three and six months to onboard supply chain partners; it’s a process that adds multiple layers of risk, involves several internal functions (including, but not limited to, procurement, legal, and compliance), and the necessity to mitigate risks.
Yet, while you’re going through the supply partner onboarding process, anything could happen. For example, that supply partner’s workers could go on strike, their factory could shut down, or some other crisis could pop up that may render the partner unproductive. Should that happen, you would need to start the whole onboarding process again from scratch with a new supply partner.
“It can take between three and six months to onboard a supply partner.”
Faster supply partner onboarding doesn’t mean that you overlook risks or that you cut internal teams out of the process. Rather, it means that you automate the process so that you can start working with a supply chain partner faster.
How to Speed Up B2B Supply Partner Onboarding
So, how do you speed up B2B supply partner onboarding so that it’s more efficient (in terms of time and cost savings)? You could change your processes, but what also matters is the underlying technology you’re using. The right technology allows you to automate supply partner onboarding procedures so they’re quicker, without putting your business at risk.
B2B integration solutions automate the supply partner onboarding process. Some B2B integration solutions use web forms to make the onboarding process easier, while others use APIs. Other B2B integration software allows you to onboard partners in bulk or singly, as well as provide self-service functionality so that partners can input their own information directly into the system.
The Benefits of Faster B2B Supply Partner Onboarding
Faster onboarding helps you solve supply chain management challenges. It offers:
- Greater visibility
- Greater agility
- Greater sustainability
When we talk about greater visibility, we mean that you’ll be able to see two things:
- How the onboarding process is going
- Any issues with the supply partner once it’s onboarded
Greater agility means that you’ll be able to take action when you realize there’s a problem. We’ll go back to the example we mentioned earlier: if a supply partner can’t deliver what you need, when you need it, you’ll be able to find another firm within your B2B integration solution, because you’ll have a pool of them from which to choose.
Greater sustainability is something to think about in the long-term. When you can onboard supply partners quickly and easily, you won’t miss out on important opportunities. Integrate. Then Dominate.
