Adopting a Holistic View in Procurement

It's common practice for organizations to try and patch up challenge points or to implement partial solutions, whether it is due to cost and implementation speed considerations, bureaucratic or legal factors, or the avoidance of making risky decisions – either way, neither approach is optimal.

The situation is no different when looking at cost and efficiency factors associated with procurement processes and supplier management.  Companies often deploy exorbitantly expensive and slow-to-implement solutions as a form of "follow the crowd" mentality or acquire apps that do not really work together and therefore only minimally optimize processes.

What typically works best, in just about every sphere, is adopting a holistic approach – looking at all impacting factors together to reach an optimal solution. 

If you maintain significant staff to oversee, confirm the accuracy of, and process procurement interactions with suppliers – you're likely faced with a slower-than-desired supply chain that's rich with processing errors and inaccuracies. 

A holistic view of the problem would address such factors as cost and speed of implementation, end-to-end resolution of the associated challenges, limited modification of existing systems and workflows, and the like.

Nipendo's end-to-end intelligent automation platform was designed for rapid and cost-effective implementation above existing ERP systems and procure-to-pay processes – of both buyers and suppliers.  Its automation capabilities not only cover the back-and-forth transmission of documents but also provide process governance that matches existing business policies as well as the flexibility to absorb changes in both systems and processes. 

The end result of implementing nipendo's holistic platform is the entry of accurate data into ERP systems and the efficient supply of goods and services. 

 

 Ilan Friedman

Where Should I Establish my US Office? 

I recently read an article where an Israeli VC partner was quoted saying they invest in Israeli companies, some of which may have established their US offices in NY or in CA.

Not that it's necessarily wrong for an Israeli startup to establish its US office in either CA or NY, but the automatic reference to these states tells me that the decision-making process around the US office location may not have evolved much over the past two decades.

Most Israeli technology startups strive to grow into the US market and are correct in doing so. But there are many ways by which to enter a new market – all of which should be reviewed as part of each company's go-to-market strategy.

Assuming that opening a local office is the chosen path, the decision on where to locate it should account for several factors, such as:

• Where are most, or the most important customers of mine based? Same for partners and for competitors?
• Where would I find the most talented (and relevant) workforce to recruit? On that note, to which location would it be easiest to relocate employees? 
• If there are multiple choices to consider, how do they compare in terms of cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business? 
• If I plan on hiring a mobile sales force, is there a major airport in the vicinity? Will weather cause major flight delays? 
• Is time-zone a consideration, particularly if frequent interactions with the Israeli office are planned? 
• Are there any relevant financial incentives to consider? 
• What, if any, impact does the global coronavirus pandemic have on my decision? 

I could name a few more issues that should be looked at, but you get the point – a decision about where to locate a local office in a foreign market should be part of an overall go-to-market strategy accompanied by research and should not be guided by a "follow the herd" mentality.



Ilan Friedman, IDFglobalbiz@gmail.com

 Global Business Expansion - The Right Approach

Admittedly, when I started working with nipendo, over a year ago, I didn't really have a good understanding of the industry in which it plays – procure-to-pay. 

If you too are unfamiliar – it is the process an organization goes through to acquire goods and services from its suppliers, from the point of order through payment.  Turns out, this process causes companies a lot of headache!

If you're going to order goods from one supplier - no big deal.  But once you start working with hundreds or thousands or even tens of thousands of suppliers, each delivering a different set of products or services – it starts becoming quite complex.  Add to that the fact that each supplier is different in terms of size, resources, methods of work, IT systems, etc.

Nipendo addresses this complexity and the exorbitant costs that it creates, through intelligent automation – ultimately achieving a far more efficient supply chain.

My fascination with the industry and the technology grew over time, as it became clear how important this really is and how nipendo impacts the bottom line of its customers. 

But putting technology aside, it is also an excellent example of what a company should do when expanding into new markets – namely the US.

Nipendo leadership adopted the first rule of global market expansion – create a strategy and assign appropriate resources to its implementation.  In nipendo's case, the strategy was much like its technology – holistic by nature.  In other words – the company embarked on a combination of direct and indirect sales, backed by razor-sharp efforts to create awareness through relevant online venues.  They've even gone farther by establishing a US office, where the CEO spends half of his time, and have recruited personnel to provide 24/7 global support in multiple languages.

Nipendo has been hugely successful in the Israeli market, selling to major global players like Intel, HP, Unilever, teva Pharmaceuticals and many others.  Its success thus far and its current global growth efforts should serve as a model for other companies that are in a similar situation.    

Ilan Friedman

IDFglobalbiz@gmail.com