TABLE 6. When was the last full vendor update to your ERP system applied? Last 6 Months Last Year Last 3 Years Last 5 Years Last 10 Years Never PPAI 100 Suppliers 37% 21% 13% 5% 0% 5% Suppliers $250M+ 56% 22% 0% 0% 0% 11% Suppliers $50M-$250M 12% 29% 29% 0% 6% 6% Suppliers $5M-$50M 38% 13% 6% 19% 0% 6% Must Read | The State of Innovation 2023 Reed says you can view these results in one of two ways: “Find a good vendor, keep using them, and the data doesn’t need to change,” he says. “Or use a vendor in a pinch (good or bad) while your sourcing team is working on the next vendor or negotiating contracts with current vendors. The data shows that trend with most in the last six to 12 months.” TABLE 7. What hurdles are hindering your integration progress? Time Resources/ Money System Limitations Lack of tools/ services Other PPAI 100 Suppliers 41% 24% 24% 9% 35% Suppliers $250M+ 33% 17% 0% 0% 50% Suppliers $50M-$250M 47% 24% 18% 6% 41% Suppliers $5M-$50M 44% 38% 44% 13% 19% Suppliers Under $5M 25% 38% 25% 25% 75% Considering that “most companies have multiple projects going on at the same time,” Reed agrees that time constraints and lack of resources are the biggest hurdles in most suppliers’ integration processes. It also makes sense that suppliers with under $5 million in revenue would cite money as a major obstacle. Among those answering “other,” some said they had no hurdles. Common explanations tended to include complexities unique to the organization. Inadequate communication channels between supplier sales reps and technical liaisons at distributor companies were also cited, along with a general lack of adherence to industry standards. TABLE 8. From a time savings and efficiency standpoint, how significant to your company is the ability to integrate purchase orders (as opposed to rekeying orders)? Very Significant Significant Neutral Not Significant PPAI 100 Suppliers 68% 29% 3% 0% Suppliers $250M+ 33% 50% 17% 0% Suppliers $50M-$250M 77% 24% 0% 0% Suppliers $5M-$50M 53% 29% 12% 6% Suppliers Under $5M 57% 29% 0% 14% 52 • OCTOBER 2023 • PPAI
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