Today and tomorrow, the Climate Council conference, organized by Sourcing Champions, is taking place at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam. This two-day event brings together Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and senior procurement professionals around a central theme: how procurement can be key in the transition to more sustainable, resilient, and compliant supply chains.
For Altares Dun & Bradstreet, this is an important opportunity to emphasize the value of reliable data in procurement. Although organizations worldwide are busy with their source-to-pay transformation, both our own research among procurement professionals and the recent market study by Sourcing Champions show that there are still many challenges ahead.
Procurement under pressure: the CPO's perspective
The role of the CPO is changing faster than ever. In addition to cost control and efficiency, procurement is expected to be the strategic driver behind sustainability, risk management, and innovation. However, the Sourcing Champions market study shows that the number of companies with formal net-zero targets has declined slightly. Companies also gave themselves lower self-assessment scores than a year ago, highlighting the complexity of achieving these targets.
In addition, a large proportion of organizations still use basic tools such as Excel to monitor emissions and supplier performance. โWithout a digital upgrade, it remains virtually impossible to manage sustainability, compliance, and risks structurally and at scale,โ says Niels van Nieuwenhuijzen, Partner Manager Benelux at Altares Dun & Bradstreet.
Data as the basis for supplier lifecycle management
Our own research shows that supplier onboarding is still a time-consuming process: it takes four weeks for 30% of organizations, and even longer for another 30%. In addition, there is a high demand for reliable data. Procurement professionals indicate that they particularly need insights into financial health, followed by turnover figures, certifications, sustainability, and payment agreements.
The top five risks in supplier databases highlights this picture:
- Difficulties in finding local alternative suppliers.
- Geen inzicht in bedrijfsverbanden (bijv. wereldwijde uiteindelijke moedermaatschappij (GUP) of binnenlandse uiteindelijke moedermaatschappij (DUP).
- Insufficient clarity regarding supplier ownership.
- Exposure to high-risk geographical areas.
- Duplicate or incomplete supplier records and no automatic alerts for high-risk suppliers.
โThis shows that supplier lifecycle management is not just a matter of contracts and performance reviews,โ Van Nieuwenhuijzen continues. โIt starts with the right data: who is your supplier, what is their financial health, what does the chain behind them look like, and what risks might you be unknowingly bringing in?โ
From qualification to performance: data as a decisive factor
Whether it concerns supplier qualification, monitoring supplier risk, or evaluating supplier performance, data is the common thread running through the entire procurement process. Without up-to-date and validated information, organizations run the risk of onboarding suppliers with hidden risks or missing opportunities to intervene in a timely manner.
With the D&B Risk Analytics solution, Altares Dun & Bradstreet offers organizations the opportunity to structurally embed supplier intelligence into their processes. This means:
- Supplier Intelligence for selecting, screening, monitoring, and onboarding suppliers.
- Compliance Intelligence to assess compliance with regulations and limit reputational risks, supported by the power of the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud.
โCPOs are under pressure to make faster and smarter decisions,โ says Van Nieuwenhuijzen. โWith Risk Analytics, they can see at a glance whether a supplier is compliant, what the corporate structure looks like, and where potential risks lie. This prevents costly disruptions and significantly speeds up the onboarding process.โ
The bigger picture: data and sustainability
In addition to costs and risk, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important theme in procurement. The Sourcing Champions study shows that compliance now ranks almost as high as costs on the agenda of procurement professionals. This demonstrates that sustainability and regulations are becoming a structural part of procurement strategies.
By making smart use of data, organizations can not only reduce their risks, but also accelerate their sustainability goals. Consider integrating ESG data into supplier selection and performance monitoring. This makes procurement strategic: not just reactive, but guiding the way to net-zero.
