In the engineering, procurement, construction industry, there are a few typical problems that seem to plague supplier data management and vendor document management. The first is using a bad system. Bad systems come in all shapes, sizes, brands, and price points. While the  absolute worst system is no system, paper-based systems that rely on file cabinets, pen and paper, and couriers produce similar results. Not far ahead are systems that rely on emails and spreadsheets. The best systems are software applications that have vendor document management functionality built right into your procurement software or document management software. These systems should centralize vendor documents, allow vendor submittals to the correct document (independent of a document controller), and have workflows for executing reviews/approvals and revise/resubmit situations.

The second problem is that suppliers give procurement teams the runaround. They do it because they can and because it seems in their best interest at the time. If you have a bad system that doesn’t offer visibility and accountability, suppliers can hide their incompetence and deviousness by blaming you and your systems.

The third problem is confusion. If supplier documents are scattered throughout your company’s file cabinets (virtual or physical), you are going to have a tough time keeping track of simple things like revisions and document numbers. It also makes it more likely that the stakeholders in this process (suppliers, engineers, document controllers, procurement, and clients) are confused and frustrated with the process.

Properly integrating teams means each team has access to the right documents and it also holds their feet to the fire by making them accountable. Whether an individual needs to submit a document, update a file, initiate a workflow, review a document, or send a transmittal to the client – all of it needs to be accountable. If there is a due date, missed due dates need to be reportable and activity needs to be logged, time stamped, and reportable.

The fourth problem is integration. When the different stakeholders don’t know the location or revision of a supplier document, they can’t effectively participate in the process. The remedy here is to integrate the teams. You can integrate through software or organizational process.

For more information about how ProjecTools can help you avoid the supplier data management mess, submit the form below.