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Ariba Inc.s new supplier Performance Management Software promises to help companies realize their spending objectives through measurement of supplier performance and automation of supplier collaboration.
Ariba SPM provides a business process in which buyers define, measure and enhance the performance of suppliers through proactive communication, collaboration and monitoring, officials said.
Part of the Sunnyvale, Calif., companys Spend Management platform, SPM automates what are currently manual processes in many com- panies. SPM provides processes for gathering, analyzing and improving performance by linking the setting of performance expectations at the sourcing and contracts level and performance delivery at the procurement and payment stage.
The result is that buyers can monitor supplier performance to make sure that suppliers conform to contract terms. In addition, buyers can encourage supplier performance through business incentives.
Features in the SPM module include predelivered key performance indicators and score cards and survey templates that enable the aggregation of supplier data from transactional systems, other stakeholders and suppliers across the Internet. An analysis template provides buyers with a fairly comprehensive view of suppliers spend, processes and performance data. A best-practice SPM activity template helps buyers and suppliers collaborate.
Curtis Hutcheson, Hewlett-Packard Co.s vice president of worldwide e-commerce, plans to go live with SPM at months end.
“SPM will help us automate the collection and aggregation of metrics,” said Hutcheson, in Houston. “We can move to near real time, and it will help us as a supplier to know what the customer wants—without the customer even having to come to us.”