First Tuesday is hosting a panel on black economic empowerment (BEE) issues in March -- and Christine Thomson, a director of MarketSite Africa and Ezee-Dex, will be there to give her point of view.
The task of managing BEE information in large organisations can seem daunting but this doesn't have to scuttle a BEE initiative. A key challenge for companies lies in ensuring that BEE vendor information is integrated into a company's existing procurement initiative - whether they are electronically enabled or not. According to First Tuesday, black economic procurement is the process of switching mainstream business procurement to black economic empowered companies in order to economically empower previously disadvantaged communities.
Christine Thomson, a director of MarketSite Africa and Ezee-Dex, says it makes sense to use technology to streamline vendor lists in order to manage these lists more effectively. "In large organisations it is not unusual to find duplicate vendor lists as well as overlapping contracts from the same supplier at different branches - with different cost structures and payment terms. Making use of vendor data rationalisation programs in conjunction with e-procurement can help buyers to effectively manage their vendor lists. It also allows them to receive regular management reports like daily updates on vendors' performance," she says.
"This is effective particularly in cases where companies need to analyse their vendors according to criteria such as whether or not they are BEE compliant," she says. Extracting this information manually from across large organisations could otherwise prove to be difficult.
In the case of establishing a BEE base companies face a number of challenges. These include the need to identify, accredit, support, develop as well as to measure BEE procurement on a sustainable basis. Information on BEE companies must be rich enough to support the criteria set by buying organisations.
Thomson adds that BEE information must also contain product information, in an internationally recognised standard. This makes it possible for a buyer to use the "list" or catalogue to buy directly from that vendor. "In this way the company can easily manage its commitment to BEE procurement by tracking their purchasing from BEE companies electronically," she adds.
First Tuesday's 2.0 Panel Discussion on Black Economic Procurement will be held on the 4 March at the Sandton Convention Centre with registration from 3.30pm onwards.
First Tuesday Thought Leaders will take a look at the realities of black economic procurement in SA. Visit www.firsttuesday.co.za
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