The impact of the Coronavirus on supply chains has been dramatic, and it's affected businesses worldwide. Connecting digitally has been vital to minimize disruption. In this video, Associated British Foods and Emirates Flight Catering each provide examples of how Scanmarket has helped them manage their businesses during the pandemic by becoming more efficient while reducing future risk.
Few industries felt the sudden onset of the Coronavirus pandemic more than the airline industry. As countries locked down, Emirates Flight Catering had just three days to adapt disrupted supply chains which spanned the globe. Fortunately, the team at Emirates Flight Catering were already working with Scanmarket which had been helping with its digital transformation.
“Scanmarket was vital in our response because it opened up new geographies and new supply chains in order to allow us to bring new products in to support not only our staff but also our customers," said Kieran Dowd, VP of Procurement at Emirates Flight Catering. "At the outset of COVID, the change in our business was dramatic. We went from over 200,000 meals per day to zero, and we had to pivot very quickly.
At the outset of COVID, the change in our business was dramatic. We went from over 200,000 meals per day to zero, and we had to pivot very quickly.
Scanmarket is a global provider of strategic sourcing software for hundreds of organizations around the world. Since the crisis, we’ve seen a shift in attitudes towards negotiating and a new willingness to embrace the online marketplace.
“The impact on the businesses has been huge, and Scanmarket has helped our clients digitalize their processes and create awareness and transparency in order for them to be able to mitigate the risks that they’re facing,” said Scanmarket’s CEO Betina Nygaard.
Associated British Foods has been working with Scanmarket for 10 years. As the largest food producer in the UK, it was vital to ensure products continued reaching supermarket shelves.
“Having access to Scanmarket during a time when people were locked up at home but still needed to work hard to ensure supply continuity, it was invaluable to have a tool that we could use to communicate en masse to suppliers and consolidate all of their responses,” says Gerry Tominey, CPO of Associated British Foods.
Having access to Scanmarket during a time when people were locked up at home but still needed to work hard to ensure supply continuity, it was invaluable to have a tool that we could use to communicate en masse to suppliers and consolidate all of their responses.
While continuity of supply is crucial, value for money and price negotiations can never be compromised. So Associated British Foods needs a tool enabling them to secure the best possible suppliers.
Gerry Tominey continues, “Given our recent experiences as a result of Coronavirus and supply chain challenges, supplier assurance has to be a #1 priority. But, equally, we need to ensure we’re buying competitively. So the Scanmarket tool has allowed us to continue with our RFQ processes and online negotiation processes.”
For Scanmarket, transparency and data awareness are the keys to helping businesses thrive.
Scanmarket CEO Betina Nygaard says, “The expensive part is the change management part, and it has actually been done cheaper than it would have been pre-COVID.”
The expensive part is the change management part, and it has actually been done cheaper than it would have been pre-COVID.
Data analysis, efficiency, and transparency is really the center of everything we do. The better we get at doing that, the better we will become at forecasting and mitigating risks and optimizing our processes to make good informed decisions in the future.
