Due to the lockdown measures needed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the global supply chain is suddenly a hot topic. Everyone in business and politics – from countries and corporations to municipalities and mom and pop stores – is talking about the need to keep goods moving.
Cordis Solutions and its parent company, ExceleratedS2P, created an application for businesses to assess their supply chain exposure against the COVID-19 risk level of any country using live data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Available on SAP App Center, the Health Risk Impact Overview app gives businesses a clearer picture of potential impacts to the supply chain so they can develop contingency plans, if needed.
By combining a company’s purchase order data with a live feed from the WHO, customers can identify suppliers in high-risk regions and then use a Qualtrics survey to assess each supplier’s confidence in meeting orders and mitigating future risks. If new suppliers are need, SAP Ariba Discovery can connect customers to alternatives to maintain business continuity.
About the Health Risk Impact Overview app
- See a Real-Time Global Impact: By combining a company’s purchase order data with live COVID-19 case data feed, a business can visually see its supply chain exposure all in one place.
- Take Actions Based on Insights, Not Impulses: By understanding where an organization is most exposed, a business can identify areas to focus on and explore in more detail.
- Deploy and Integrate Quickly with SAP: Using open API’s, the app easily integrates with SAP Ariba and SAP ERP to provide a comprehensive view of all open purchase orders, contracts, and sourcing events.
“Disruption of the supply chain can have a domino effect on the economy,” says Ramesh Varsani, co-founder of ExceleratedS2P. “Getting this app up and running quickly was critical since the problem is time sensitive.”
Speed to Market
The SAP Ariba team was looking for a partner to take advantage of the open application programming interface (API) approach, which is perfect for driving fast innovation. Cordis Solutions boldly jumped in.
“SAP wanted a partner to take their idea, develop it, get it to market quickly, and support it,” says Varsani. “We formed a close relationship with the SAP Ariba team and were able to complete the entire project in less than 14 days.”
The standard time to get an app approved and launched on SAP App Center is six to eight weeks. Due to the critical need for this app, that part of the process took just seven days with the support of multiple SAP teams.
Within 24 hours of being posted, the app caught the attention of a multinational business. Since then a number of customers have requested demonstrations.
Mitigating Risk
Many people think the supply chain is all about logistics, moving products from point A to point B. But it’s also about managing risk. The app benefits those working in procurement but also people in compliance and risk management.
Right now, much of the work to rate COVID-19 risk is done manually. People are calling supplies and entering data on spreadsheets. This doesn’t necessarily provide good visibility into a situation that changes rapidly. The app, on the other hand, can show real-time results as soon as it has access to customer data.
The app is the starting point of a broader risk management process. The initial overview provided by the app is immensely valuable, but what a company does with that information is what really matters. It lets them engage with their suppliers, understand the situation, and develop alternative plans to minimize risk.
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