Collaboration is absolutely essential for driving productivity and lifting financial performance in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace. Communicating more freely with customer, suppliers, and employees allows companies to draw on previously untapped capabilities to address existing challenges and spot new opportunities. Business networks have opened the door to this new way of collaborating and may be what differentiate the modern day competitor from competitors of the past. Learn how Ariba, the world’s business commerce network, is helping companies buy better, sell faster and leverage eInvoicing and dynamic discounting to manage their payments and receivables more strategically.
2012 Ariba Commerce Summit in Atlanta
Show of hands: how many people have made a purchase from Amazon.com within the last month? Describe processAnd, how many have paid your bills without ever touching an envelope or a paper statement?That is because is our personal lives we have embraced social technologies and networks to save time, get exposed to a larger breadth of product options and eliminate some of the errors that were inherent in paper transactions.Story or personal example (mail forwarding)
Now, let’s see a show of hands of people whose companies are using similar technologies to receive the same benefits in a business setting?Networks have transformative potential…McKinsey talks about the value of both internal and external networks in a report it published this summer. Networks can increase worker productivity by 20-25% and contribute up to $1.3 trillion in value to businesses, according to McKinsey. And Aberdeen Group, in a recent report, found that companies using business networks reduce requisition to order time by 28% and cost by an average of 33%. Let’s hear what others have to say about the value of networks…(launch video)
So why should businesses care about being networked? Enterprises benefit from business networks in very tangible ways. According to McKinsey, not only are networked businesses 50% more likely to be market leaders but also achieve higher market shares, drive higher margins and increase sales.Aberdeen confirms this citing benefits for networked companies including establishing stronger supplier relationships which yield a 33% increase in the rate of suppliers meeting capability/performance thresholds and a 12% higher rate of on time delivery. Think about how, as a buyer, this impacts your ability to put more product on the shelves … therefore, driving top line revenue as well as saving costs.
Networked Enterprises are gaining a competitive advantage, not only because they are reducing costs by increasing productivity and efficiency, but also because they are able to compete in a world where speed and risk management are critical.Social technologies enable businesses to share information – increasing transparency and therefore knowledge. Michael Fauscette, an analyst at IDC speaks to this point in recent works. To quote Fauscette, in the old days of command and control there was a common saying “knowledge is power.” People protected information because it made them more valuable. Today, according to Fauscette, knowledge sharing is power.Ultimately, through transparency of information with partners, suppliers and customers, your business can innovate more quickly, collect valuable market research real time that helps you make decisions such as where to invest for growth. So, networked businesses see significant top line benefits as well as bottom line impact.Let’s hear from a couple of them directly…(launch videos)
Ariba is the world’s business commerce network. We have solutions that help you buy better, sell faster and manage your invoices, payables and working capital more effectively. There are people in this room and people around the world who can talk to you about what your challenges and opportunities are as well as help you identify the right place to start (or continue) your journey to become a networked enterprise.Whether you want to identify sources of supply more quickly or you have a mandate to identify a more diverse base of suppliers, Ariba can help you.Whether you are looking for new business or just looking to increase your wallet share with an existing buyer on the Ariba network, Ariba can help you.And, whether you are looking to take simply take paper out of your process or looking to optimize your DPO and discount program, Ariba can help you.The comprehensiveness of our network, its ease of use, open architecture and two sided business model mean that all participants benefit from using it. By providing a common platform for all businesses to discover, connect and collaborate Ariba enables greater visibility, productivity and innovation impacting your top and bottom line.
Review the sell side benefits
So, the logical question at this point is how do I become a networked enterprise so that I can position myself to receive the resulting benefits?Embracing social technologies and business networks is not like implementing a new software application. It requires fundamental change within an organizationFinding a business network that is open – one that connects to your existing systems - one that incorporates not just technology but community and capabilities – information from peers, expert or third party data, enablement skills and best practices know howChange management is essential. McKinsey says, “Success…will depend on transforming organizations and cultures…it will require the ability to create trust…it enables new relationships and group dynamics.” Executive support is a must to make this cultural changeChanges the skills required to do jobs…focusing more on higher order tasks and thinking…more analysis, teaming and collaborationEnsure that you start in a place where you can make an impact but don’t think about it as a project, instead view it as a journey.
The largest and most comprehensive network that is helping companies derive these benefits is Ariba.Our combined Networks create a business commerce community of nearly 1 million trading partners, exchanging over 60 million invoices, and transacting over $300 billion in spend annuallyOur customers and prospects get immediate benefit from an increased community of buyers and sellers. This means improved supplier matching and onboarding success increased value from global Ariba expertise with offices in 40 countries over 200 professionals dedicated to supplier onboarding and success Support services in 40 countries speaking in 18 different languages – (example xxxx in Europe, NA, Brazil, etc.) Ariba customers also benefit from the expanded value of the best solutions
Now we’ll open it for questions. I do, however, want to encourage everyone to take advantage of a free assessment tool that Aberdeen Group has created that can help you gain insight into where you stand on your business network journey. We have these assessments available at the registration desk so please stop by and take one on your way out today.Now, for questions…