In today’s world of modern supply-chain the companies with whom we interact on a regular basis, are increasingly based in different cities, countries and across different continents.

Today’s demand for sustainable trading practices, souring overheads, and the demands of hiring top market-savvy talent are all important factors that have been influencing how employers across all sectors shape their businesses in today’s increasingly virtual eco-environments.

Whilst at the same time consumerisation of technology is also empowering the change of culture perpetuating workforce lifestyle adaptation – otherwise known as the the evolution of the workforce.

Working remotely in a team is certainly becoming the modern way. Whilst equally, managing often complex supplier engagements increasingly in the cloud, poses a number key digital transformative considerations. Here are two:

Consideration 1:

Rigid management and reporting structures are on their way out.

In the world of digital relationships, rigidity in comms and reporting is a needless blocker as well as a lost opportunity. A fluid real-time approach to communication and engagement is naturally supported by using digital omnichannel platforms such as Suppeco – where multiple lines of engagement may be simultaneously initiated and optimised through dynamic collaborative sessions.

Consideration 2:

Monthly governance models and meeting regimes are on their way out.

Every healthy relationship benefits from having rules and structure. Cloud based relationships are no different. That’s not to say that digital platforms should rework the traditional supplier management playbook, and nor do they. Modern b2b ecosystems recognise the gains in real-time access to field-based service optimisation – spotting problems as they occur and collaborating digitally in the field to manage improve or mitigate risk.

The kicker being the time elapsed between service items being raised and ultimately being closed – a process greatly reduced through using digital omnichannel platforms such as Suppeco.

In fact, that tends only to be the start of usually much bigger and more complex opportunities to drive value and create savings across the multitude of digital engagement channels. This is where if utilised effectively the omnichannel platform structure comes into its own, where service management and continuous improvements are managed simultaneously, collaboratively, and in real time.

McKinsey’s research indicates that innovative digital solutions can unlock as much as an incremental 10% in annual cost savings though digital remote based stakeholder assessment and real time feedback.