February 2010

Managing relationships with suppliers is just as important to business success as managing relationships with customers. There is a similarly huge amount of information to be recorded, made available and acted upon - meetings, telephone calls, agreements, time-scales, project mile-stones… Managing this trail of information and action points is complex, but vital to achieving success in business today.

Solutions software specialist BCP (Business Computer Projects) has introduced a new Supplier Relationship Management module to its Accord® wholesale solution to help wholesalers better manage these relationships in the same way as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems help manage dealings with customers. Accord®-SRM provides an effective and easy means of storing, viewing and tracking all supplier contacts and relevant information so that issues are progressed and resolved as efficiently as possible.

The system comprises a central repository of all contact with suppliers plus a single, instant access console. Through the console the user can manage supplier contact efficiently, accessing all previous communications and associated documents, together with other relevant details stored within Accord®, and employ user definable workflows to route issues automatically to the right personnel.

Tony Beales, BCP Supply Chain Director: “Businesses gain because the relevant facts are to hand when dealing with a supplier so that tasks can be automatically progressed and tracked and any problems easily identified and addressed. Traditional problems of communication within a company such as lost or unread e-mails, memory lapses and mislaid post-its, become a thing of the past.”

The system is ideal for staff in supplier facing departments such as buyers, warehouse and accounts personnel. It is simple to implement and highly flexible so users can configure many features to suit their own requirements and integrates fully to other Accord® modules.