An enterprise’s information is incredibly valuable, especially in terms of competitive advantage and profitability. And yet, this data lives across multiple systems. It lives in thousands of fragmented sources. It lives outside of organizations. It lives in people’s heads.
If that wasn’t complex enough, let me remind you that all this data is changing by the minute. Companies find it impossible to trust their data and the consequences have been dire.
Digitally transformed (and transforming) procurement teams are using software that works well, but it does not resolve their data issues. I consistently see this when I speak at procurement conferences. I always start with two questions:
- “Raise your hand if you have some confidence in the quality of your supplier data.” As you can imagine, everyone smiles. They all look around, but nobody raises their hand.
- “Raise your hand if you believe quality supplier data is critical to digital procurement transformation.” I watch as 100% of the people raise their hands.
Technology without good data
Strategic procurement teams recognize that it’s critical to lead transformation with data, through a data strategy, and on a solid data foundation. We often look at technology as being a silver bullet, but it doesn’t matter what technology you use if you don’t have good data to support it. Procurement teams must have data they can trust and build over time.
Millions of dollars have been poured into systems that promise efficiency, transparency, and savings. But procurement teams are still struggling; there is still little to no confidence in the quality of supplier data and there is still no mechanism in place to improve it.
Future-forward technology
TealBook’s revolutionary combination of big data and AI creates self-enriching supplier records that can plug into any solution. TealBook is the fuel to supercharge your technology stack, making your investment more effective while positioning your team to succeed in a living digital ecosystem.
If you want to learn more, I encourage you to take 15 minutes and listen to my Art of Procurement Podcast with Philip Ideson. It could change or perhaps even save your digital transformation.
We are always happy to discuss the challenges that real procurement teams are up against. Go to www.tealbook.com to request a demo or to speak with one of our team members.
Stephany Lapierre is the Founder and CEO of Tealbook. A lifelong entrepreneur, Stephany spent 10 years building a successful strategic sourcing and procurement consulting firm and it sparked her desire to solve the supplier data problem. Stephany is passionate about establishing the gold standard for supplier data and making it accessible to every large organization, which is why TealBook’s Supplier Data Platform automates the collection, verification, and enrichment of supplier data across any data lake or enterprise system. TealBook is a leader in procurement technology and has been chosen by Spend Matters as one of their "50 Vendors to Know," named a top 100 solution by ProcureTech, and recognized as a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner. A highly-coveted supply chain thought leader, Stephany has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain. Outside of work, you can find Stephany spending time with her husband and three daughters, and keeping active on the ski hill or in a pilates studio.
