Cost savings may be job number one today, but the current
economic crisis portends an equally disturbing storm brewing on the
horizon: heightened supply risk. Volatile commodity prices, credit
shortages, consolidation and bankruptcies are combining so that
companies � regardless of their size or the industries in which
they operate - will face some form of supply disruption in the year
ahead. In an effort to minimize their impact, Ariba, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ARBA), the leading spend management solutions provider, has
launched a new online resource center filled with strategies for
controlling costs, reducing risk and maximizing performance.
�As outsourcing, consolidation and globalization continue,
supply risk is an increasingly significant source of overall
business risk,� said Sundar Kamakshisundaram, Senior Solutions
Marketing Manager, Ariba. �Our new online resource center is
designed to provide practical and proven spend management
techniques that companies can use to minimize the incidences of
these risks and impact on their business while positioning
themselves to compete more strongly when economic conditions
improve.�
A unique online community accessible at
ariba.com/programs/supplyrisk.cfm, the resource center features
practical, actionable strategies for assessing and managing supply
risk such as the following:
� �
1)
�
Include risk management in your
sourcing strategy. Revisit your sourcing process, Requests for
Proposal, etc. to confirm that risk management is adequately
addressed in your evaluation by all of your buyers.
2)
Audit the financial,
operational, and balance of trade exposure of your most strategic
and mission-critical suppliers. Too often investigation of
supplier solvency and dependencies are limited to the initial
sourcing project. You need only to open a newspaper or turn on the
nightly news to realize that the health of even the seemingly most
stable companies can degrade quickly.
3)
Look for early warning
signs. Drops in quality or shipment delays can be indications
that the supplier has cut too deep into its operations. More
frequent requests for early payment or changes in sales and support
personnel should also raise a red flag. While these symptoms may
not necessarily belay supplier troubles, they should warrant
further investigation.
4)
Increase the frequency of
supplier performance reviews. In the face of highly volatile
markets where credit is tight, reviews should be done at least
quarterly with your most strategic and mission-critical suppliers
and semi-annually with your next tier of suppliers.
5)
Automate your supplier
management process. The above actions may be time consuming,
but well worth the effort, considering their risk avoidance
potential. Leading spend management organizations are simplifying
this process by leveraging supplier management tools that combine
self-service portals for suppliers to publish and manage their own
profile information (and workflow for routing supplier profiles for
review and approval); scorecarding and performance measurement
utilities; and project management capabilities for corrective
action management. Use of such tools can improve visibility,
control risk and enable you to extend supplier management to a
broader portion of your supply base.
�In today�s economy, the only thing that is certain is that
companies will face more supply risks and challenges than ever
before,� Kamakshisundaram said. �But with the right tools, they can
effectively manage and overcome them.�
For additional insights into developing and executing effective
strategies to mitigate supply risk, visit the Ariba Supply Risk
Resource Center at: ariba.com/programs/supplyrisk.cfm
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of on-demand spend
management solutions. Our mission is to transform the way companies
of all sizes, across all industries, and geographies operate by
delivering software, service, and network solutions that enable
them to holistically source, contract, procure, pay, manage, and
analyze their spend and supplier relationships. Delivered on
demand, our enterprise-class offerings empower companies to achieve
greater control of their spend and drive continuous improvements in
financial and supply chain performance. More than 1,000 companies,
including more than half of the companies on the Fortune 500, use
Ariba solutions to manage their spend from sourcing and orders
through invoicing and payment. For more information, visit
www.ariba.com
Copyright � 1996 � 2009 Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, the Ariba logo, AribaLIVE, SupplyWatch, Ariba.com,
Ariba.com Network and Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keep
it. are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Spend
Management, Ariba. This is Spend Management, Ariba Solutions
Delivery, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Category Management,
Ariba Category Procurement, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba
Contracts, Ariba Contract Management, Ariba Contract Workbench,
Ariba Data Enrichment, Ariba eForms, Ariba Invoice, Ariba Payment,
Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Spend Visibility, Ariba Travel and Expense,
Ariba Procure-to-Pay, Ariba Workforce, Ariba Supplier Network,
Ariba Supplier Connectivity, Ariba Supplier Performance Management,
Ariba Content Procurement, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba QuickSource,
PO-Flip, Ariba Spend Management Knowledge Base, Ariba Ready, Ariba
Supply Lines, Ariba Supply Manager, Ariba LIVE, It�s Time for Spend
Management and Supplier Lifecycle Management are trademarks or
service marks of Ariba, Inc. All other brand or product names may
be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations in the United States and/or other
countries.
Ariba Safe Harbor
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act 1995: Information and announcements in this release
involve Ariba's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or
strategies regarding the future and are forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking
statements included in this release are based upon information
available to Ariba as of the date of the release, and we assume no
obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results could differ materially from our current expectations.
Factors that could cause or contribute to Ariba's operating and
financial results to differ materially from current expectations
include, but are not limited to: the impact of the credit crises on
Ariba�s results of operations and financial condition; delays in
development or shipment of new versions of Ariba's products and
services; lack of market acceptance of Ariba's existing or future
products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive
new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new
products or services by major competitors; the ability to attract
and retain qualified employees; difficulties in assimilating
acquired companies, long and unpredictable sales cycles and the
deferrals of anticipated orders; declining economic conditions,
including the impact of a recession; inability to control costs;
changes in the company's pricing or compensation policies;
significant fluctuations in our stock price; the outcome of and
costs associated with pending or potential future regulatory or
legal proceedings; the impact of our acquisitions, including the
disruption or loss of customer, business partner, supplier or
employee relationships; and the level of costs and expenses
incurred by Ariba as a result of such transactions. Factors and
risks associated with its business, including a number of the
factors and risks described above, are discussed in Ariba's Form
10-Q filed with the SEC on February 6, 2009.
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