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We’re a quarter of the way into 2022 and still feeling the supply chain squeeze that plagued industries across the board in 2021. In some ways, the supply chain challenges we’re facing today are worse than they have been for the previous two years. In most organizations, procurement is the team most impacted by disruptions in the supply chain.
Shipping and Supply Chain Woes for Procurement Teams
One reason for the supply chain strain we’re all feeling is what’s known as the bullwhip effect, in which small changes in customer demand result in significant demand for raw materials.
For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sudden dip in demand for new cars (since nobody was driving anywhere) meshed with the drastic uptick in demand for new electronics (e.g., laptops since everyone was suddenly working from home) to create a surge in demand for semiconductor chips.
Of course, now that the pandemic has pivoted and people are starting to venture out into the world again, the demand for new cars is on the rise. But because the supply of semiconductor chips pivoted to small electronics, car manufacturers are now facing a shortage of the raw material they need for their end product. On the flip side, if people no longer need to buy electronics in such high volumes, electronic manufacturers may end up with a surplus of semiconductor chips they have no use for.
In addition, shipping has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and border closures, which have brought many shipments to a literal standstill in the middle of the ocean. Then there’s the fact that shipping costs have skyrocketed, making it difficult to budget this year’s procurement needs accurately.
And, like other industries, the shipping industry is facing a staffing crisis, with companies struggling to keep up with the rising demand for shipped goods while working with fewer resources.
All of these challenges impact procurement teams, who are finding it increasingly difficult to make accurate predictions about the supply chain in today’s world.
Finding Control in a Seemingly Out of Control World
Rather than focusing on all of these uncontrollable supply chain issues, let’s focus on the one thing procurement teams in manufacturing can control — time spent on contracting.
After all, every supply chain relationship you have starts with a contract! Therefore, vendor contract management is a critical part of procurement. Using vendor contract management software allows you to build relationships with your suppliers while keeping tabs on shipments and spending for your direct and indirect procurement needs.
If your contracts are slow, your ordering time will also be slow. Can you really afford to risk delaying shipments further because of an antiquated contracting process that takes weeks or even months to complete when it could be done in a matter of days?
We didn’t think so.
Here are a few ways you might be wasting the amount of time you spend on contract negotiations and deadlines.
- Copy/paste nightmares in Word
- Hunting for that example warranty redline you’re sure you worked on a few months back … or was it two years ago?
- Converting PDFs and locked Word documents (once you’ve hunted down whoever is needed to unlock them)
- Wasting four emails, two conference calls, and a Zoom meeting to align on a single issue (then repeating the process for the next issue and so on)
- Working through complicated contract amendments that are difficult to interpret without a redline
- Applying a playbook manually from a PDF or clunky Word plugin
DocJuris Can Help You Regain Control of Your Procurement Contracts
Don’t jeopardize profitability and service levels with time-draining activities that are within your control. With DocJuris, your team can negotiate third-party contracts more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever.
Here are some ways to change the contract negotiation process for your procurement team using contract negotiation software from DocJuris.
- Automatically screen third-party contracts with integrated rule-driven playbooks
- Convert PDFs and unlock pesky locked Word docs in a single workflow
- Leverage first-line reviewers and self-service in a contained contract workspace
- Hide internal comments from third-party viewers and use canned comments to save time
- Explore previous redlines and requests for proposals (RFPs), all organized by subject
- Pull data on the frequency of fallbacks or time spent in other critical areas of the contract
- Incorporate one-click defined terms and exhibits on any paper
Is your team ready for a change? Attend our next monthly demo to learn more about how DocJuris software works and if it makes sense for your procurement team.
