- Free Version: Available for teams of up to 10
- Pricing: Premium plan $24/seat/month (with free 30-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available on mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use SafetyCulture?
An award-winning mobile-first enterprise platform, SafetyCulture is highly effective as a supplier collaboration software solution by enhancing communication and efficiency within supply chains. By enabling seamless sharing of safety protocols, compliance requirements, and supplier quality standards, third-party vendors and service providers can work according to the company’s policies. Many also favor its mobile capabilities since they can use the platform to conduct audits, review inventory, and share real-time updates in remote or offline locations.
Features:
- Increase transparency and promote collaboration by enabling users to upload, review, and share information (e.g., certifications, contracts, incident reports, audits, compliance documents, etc.) within a centralized data repository.
- Enhance accountability by tracking assigned actions and following up on tasks, particularly when mandated per in-house policies and regulatory agencies.
- Increase accuracy and context by monitoring employees, activities, assets, and risks with geographical data, particularly with enterprises operating across different regions.
- Improve coordination between different companies in the supply chain to minimize delays and prevent disruptions with the help of robust communication tools.
- Gain 360-degree visibility into the entire operations by consolidating data from various systems into a single platform.
Why use Flock?
Primarily a general cloud-based collaboration platform, Flock is the perfect tool companies can use to grow relationships with suppliers and other stakeholders. Aside from providing a unified platform for real-time messaging and file sharing, and collaboration, it offers an intuitive interface and seamless integration with third-party applications that ensure projects are completed efficiently and on time.
Features:
- Real-time messaging
- File sharing and collaboration
- Video conferencing
- Free Version: Yes, for small teams of up to 20 members
- Pricing: Starts at $4.50/user/month, billed annually (with a 30-day free trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use Lucidchart?
A visual collaboration platform, Lucidchart helps organizations and their selected partners for diagramming, flowcharting, and process mapping. Aside from creating and sharing visual representations of the processes that ensure alignment, every team member also gets to add comments and annotations in real-time, streamlining communication and decision-making.
Features:
- Supply chain process chart creation and sharing
- Technical documentation tools
- Version history and revision tracking
- Free Version: Yes
- Pricing: Starts at $9/user
- Platforms supported: Available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use eStudio?
Despite its straightforward website design, this collaboration platform provides users an efficient way to manage projects, assign tasks, and share documents. eStudio by Same-Page also offers robust communication tools that enable company employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders to share updates and discuss important business decisions in real-time.
Features:
- Workflow recording
- Calendar and contact management
- Gantt chart support
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $59/month (with a free 30-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available as a web-based software
Why use Teamwork?
Teamwork.com has a comprehensive suite of tools that helps businesses coordinate activities efficiently, track task completion, and ensure seamless communication among teams. Because of its versatility and a wide array of integration options, it works well for companies of all sizes across industries.
Features:
- Time tracking with estimated time management
- Resource scheduling and calculation
- Project milestone recording
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $10.99/user/month, billed annually (with a 30-day free trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use Honeywell Forge?
Considered one of the best software solution providers today, Honeywell Forge offers a top-notch supplier collaboration module. Formerly known as Sine, this visitor and contractor management solution ensures seamless communication between companies and their partners to enhance operational efficiency.
Features:
- Automated compliance forms
- Vendor and supplier IDs
- Reminders for document management and exporting
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $69/site/month, billed annually (with a free 14-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
What is Supplier Collaboration Software?
A supplier collaboration software is a digital solution that facilitates communication, coordination, and collaboration between a company and its third-party vendors or service providers. It serves as a centralized hub where both parties can interact in real time, sharing information, managing transactions, and streamlining various aspects of the supply chain process. With the help of this platform, organizations and their partners can build better relationships for process optimization and, subsequently, success.
Benefits
Efficient collaboration practices are a crucial aspect of achieving supply chain efficiency. However, achieving synergy among several companies working together is hard when transparency or accountability is lacking. Full-featured supplier collaboration solutions do not just streamline various tasks. It also fosters closer relationships between partners, leading to improved performance.
Here’s what a supplier collaboration platform provides:
- Improved Communication – Effective communication is the backbone of successful partnerships. This type of software ensures seamless and instant communication, minimizing delays and facilitating prompt resolutions to any issues.
- Enhanced Visibility – With built-in tracking and monitoring tools, companies gain real-time visibility into your supply chain. Managers can better supervise their suppliers, anticipating potential issues and relaying decisions proactively.
- Effective Risk Mitigation – Numerous problems could arise in the supply chain. With real-time data collection, reporting, and analytics, businesses can respond swiftly to disruptions due to supplier risks and ensure continuity and resilience.
- Increased Cost Savings – When companies make the wrong choice when choosing suppliers, they need to go through the arduous process again, spending additional funds, squandering time, and wasting effort. Since automation results in operational efficiency, companies can save more in the long run.
- Augmented Quality Control – Standardizing processes, from supplier selection to regular evaluation, ensure better results and adherence to regulations and industry best practices. With the software solution, businesses can take the initiative to uphold continuous improvement effectively.
Two companies prove that leveraging technology facilitates better supplier management. Gason, a leading manufacturing and engineering group in Australia, utilizes a highly-rated platform that facilitates seamless communication for increased collaboration with suppliers and customers. M Sport World Rally Team also discovered the winning formula in holding world-class events – a centralized platform that enables dispersed teams to work together.
Key Features
There are numerous platforms that companies can utilize to streamline tasks when working with third-party vendors and service providers, including comprehensive supplier management systems, risk management software, and supplier selection solutions. All those share the same tools, but supplier collaboration platforms have specialized functionalities. Here are some:
- Template Library for managing supplier activities (e.g., audits, quality checks, procurement, etc.)
- Supplier portal with access roles
- Records management (with supplier’s occupational details, onboarding, and scorecarding information)
- Order management and inventory tracking
- Collaborative capacity forecasting
- Quality management
- Site-Specific activity monitoring
- Real-time communication tools
- Training and development tools
- Integrations with ERPs, CRMs, and other work software.
Choosing the Right Supplier Collaboration Software
Procurement teams, operations department heads, and supply chain managers will benefit considerably from any supplier collaboration solutions described above. Take another look at the summary below before taking your pick.
| Supplier Collaboration Software | Free Version | Paid Plan | Mobile App |
| SafetyCulture | Yes | $24/seat/month* | Yes |
| Flock | Yes | $4.50/user/month* | Yes |
| Lucidchart | Yes | $9/user | Yes |
| eStudio | No | $59/month | No |
| Teamwork.com | Yes | $10.99/user/month* | Yes |
| Honeywell Forge | No | $69/site/month* | Yes |
* billed annually
Eunice Arcilla Caburao