Some of the old dogs of company research are learning new tricks. LexisNexis, the newest player in the supplier risk monitoring information services space was actually, according to its website, the first electronic data-search system to retrieve full-text documents. We’re talking 1966 here. Its new product, SmartWatch, accesses its impressive collection of content, including news, industry, and legal publications and scans for recent country, industry, and company events in the environmental, political, economic, societal, technical, and legal areas of concern. Dow Jones rolled out its service, Supplier & Risk Monitor in 2010. Dow Jones introduced its first online company and business news database service in 1973. Its tool monitors supplier failure, supply continuity issues, brand and reputation issues, product safety concerns, financial instability and exposure to catastrophic events (earthquakes, floods, etc). BvD was established in 1991 and the Procurement Catalyst solution was introduced last year. Credit reporting provider, Dun and Bradstreet, according to its website, dates back to 1841 as The Mercantile Agency. Its Supplier Risk Manager tool has been around for 10+ years. The Alerts module allows you to customize your supplier alerts with over 25 data elements and D&B’s predictive risk scores, the Supplier Stability Indicator and the Supplier Evaluation Risk ratings. Newer supplier risk credit and financial health providers, Rapid Ratings and Cortera, have introduced unique, innovative models. Rapid Ratings technology was created in 1991 and implemented in 1998-2001 and Cortera was founded in 1993 – its Pulse product is 3 years old. Experian was established in 1996 and its BusinessIQ Express product was released last year.
The resources included in the overview chart below are stand-alone tools (that can also be integrated) and have been created by credit risk reporting or company financial/intelligence research providers. For a complete overview of the Supplier Management market (technology and services), I encourage you to read “Supplier Management – Market Insight” White Paper by Declan Kearney ([email protected]).
