The digital age has revolutionised the way society consumes and shares information. Within the commercial arena, there is hardly a business function that does not make use of technology to perform even the simplest of tasks. Supply chain has been one of the departments to embrace technology the slowest, however, the SCDigest Supply Chain Digitization Benchmark Survey 2016, released in mid-2016, revealed a shift in mind-set with about 80 percent of respondents identifying digitisation as a key focus area.

Rudi Kruger, general manager at LexisNexis Risk Solutions discusses the key advantages of a digital shift for supply chain, which include enhanced security, reliability, reduced carbon footprint and cost saving.

“Going digital serves as a means of staying competitive and safe while providing easy access to necessary documentation and procedures. This creates immediacy, transparency and ensures that those involved in supply chain are able to gain a cohesive overview,” said Kruger.

An area most deserving of digitisation is risk management in the form of vendor vetting and management during the procurement stage, according to Kruger.

The King Codes for Corporate Governance and legislation like the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act stipulate strict codes of conduct, which if not abided by can mean fines, reputational damage or even jail time.

“Procurement vendor vetting and vendor management are designed to limit or eliminate conflicts of interest, shell companies and other incidents of procurement fraud that can land your business in hot water,” said Kruger.

“These steps therefore deserve adequate time, support and tools in order to be effective. In addition, it must be noted that once-off evaluation and screening are not enough to protect your business from unscrupulous activities, which is a why a permanent digital assistant is necessary to help with keeping things above board.

A solution like ProcureCheck, from LexisNexis Risk Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions is the ideal online solution for vendor screening, ongoing monitoring and management in one place. The workflow solution understands, identifies and prevents fraud and conflicts of interest by giving you all the information you need.

Key Features of ProcureCheck:

• Provides vendor and staff reports (useful for King III committees)
• Build and manage your own internal non-preferred list of vendors and employees
• Allows clients to import vendor and staff lists
• Vendor vetting (on an adhoc or batch basis)
• Detailed conflict of interest report.
• Identify conflicts of interest through powerful cross-referencing of information
• Visual representation of data, gives you the ability to see the bigger picture

For more information download the brochure, www.lnrisk.co.za