A light-hearted look at what matters in buyer/supplier communities:

Every Responsible organisation working in increasingly Regulated environments (and everything seems to be getting more regulated these days) is justly concerned with its Reputation in competitive markets (because reputation is an important differentiator when specifications can otherwise appear so similar).

To secure ongoing competitive advantage, they are dependent on Reliable suppliers with whom they can establish, grow and maintain strong Relationships whilst reducing their cost base.

The traditional approach to understanding and managing supplier Risk is to establish a procurement team whose job is to assess and re-assess suppliers.

The Repetition involved for every Buyer and every Supplier is hugely costly and time-consuming; and for smaller suppliers, especially so, which threatens the breadth of the supplier base and stifles innovation.

Communities of buyers and suppliers sharing information can combine and leverage the experience of multiple Buyers from multiple market sectors into a single environment where all suppliers are assessed equally, thoroughly and appropriately. Such a community provides a benchmark for suppliers against which they can assess their own competitiveness and plan improvements.