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CombineNet ASAP®: Sourcing Bid Analysis & E-Sourcing Optimization
In the overall sourcing process, one of the most time-consuming steps involves the aggregation and analysis of supplier information and their bids, and how to best arrive at optimal sourcing decisions that reflect your real-world business preferences and constraints. All of this is easily supported by CombineNet ASAP®, our best-in-class e-sourcing product.
There are two ways to take advantage of CombineNet’s analytics capabilities: (1) Set up your online RFX or E-Auction event with CombineNet ASAP’s RFxpress and then collect supplier bids using our Expressive Bidding® feature; or (2) import bid data into CombineNet ASAP from an external source to apply our analytics power.
Our Scenario BuilderSM feature is used to easily create and evaluate any variety of "what if?" sourcing scenarios, using an unlimited combination of business rules, constraints, and scopes. This allows users to analyze supplier bids alongside your preferences to make better sourcing decisions. Driven by our patented sourcing optimization technology, CombineNet ASAP then quickly analyzes the data and generates the optimal award allocation based on your defined sourcing scenarios -- typically in seconds.
With the ability to analyze and compare multiple "what if?" scenarios quickly, sourcing event managers and stakeholders can evaluate sourcing options based on supplier strengths and weaknesses, performance history, price and non-price value, and corporate goals, right down to the individual item they are supplying. This fast, iterative analysis enables CombineNet customers to:
- Make better sourcing decisions faster, reducing sourcing event cycles by weeks or even months
- Understand the cost impact of sourcing decisions, comparing different sourcing scenarios and supply options based on facts, not emotion
- Reduce "maverick," or off-contract spend, by collaborating more closely with stakeholders during the bid analysis phase to generate alignment with the sourcing decision.
CombineNet ASAP provides the most flexible sourcing analysis capabilities for improved decision making, including business rules and constraints such as:
- Minimum/maximum number of suppliers awarded per item, location, business unit, etc.
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Minimum/maximum volume award to any supplier (% of $ of business)
- Minimum/maximum volume (% or $) to specific suppliers, incumbents, minority-owned businesses, etc.
- Favor or penalize specific supplier by % or $
- Favor or penalize specific supplier by % or $ based on a specific supplier characteristic (for example, supplier performance score)
- Award at least % of spend or $ to each supplier
- Favor bids by % or $ for incumbent suppliers
Scenario rules can also be Scoped within CombineNet ASAP, meaning they can be applied to all of the items and suppliers in the sourcing event, or to individual items and suppliers, or groups of items. This enables even more powerful and detailed analysis, and users to create rules that apply to some items, business units, geographic regions, etc.
Scenario Analysis Configuration for more Flexible Sourcing Analysis:
In addition to preconfigured rules and Scopes that are available for every ASAP sourcing event, we offer a wizard-driven Scenario Analysis Configuration feature that lets event managers quickly create custom rules and Scopes for use in the Scenario Builder, using any Item or Supplier attribute included in their sourcing events (e.g.: easily evaluating any number of a supplier’s RFI responses or item characteristics alongside supplier bids). This enables more robust and flexible scenario analysis, so that event managers and internal stakeholders can collaborate on sourcing options for better value-based decision making.
For routine or even the most complex sourcing events, CombineNet ASAP provides industry-leading flexibility and powerful sourcing analytics that enables sourcing professionals to quickly and easily evaluate award scenarios to make better decisions.
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