by Brianna Crandall — November 10, 2014—BSI, the U.K.-based business standards company, has just launched PAS 7000, a universally applicable supply chain information standard for suppliers and buyers at organizations of all sizes around the globe. PAS 7000:2014 Supply Chain Risk Management–Supplier Prequalification helps answer three key questions relating to any organizations supply chain partners: “Who are they? Where are they? Can they be relied upon?”
The standard, which BSI says is the first of its kind, draws on the collective expertise of 240 professionals drawn from global industry associations and organizations, and it addresses product, process and behavioral criteria for supplier prequalification. PAS 7000 was created in response to industry demand, with three-quarters of executives considering supply chain risk management important or very important.
As supply chains increasingly span continents, and brands become ever more exposed due to the demand for increased transparency, the challenges for procurement teams to assess the suitability of suppliers increases. A full 63% of Europe/Middle East/Asia (EMEA) companies have experienced disruption to their value chain due to unpredictable events beyond their control in the last 12 months, at an average cost of 449,525 per incident per company.
PAS 7000 is designed to provide companies with a uniform set of common information requirements that reduces duplication of effort in completing tender forms and aids procurement in bringing consistency to the supplier base. It establishes a model of governance, risk and compliance information for buyers to pre-qualify suppliers and confirm their intention and ability, to adhere to key compliance requirements. This in turn helps organizations make an informed decision about whether or not to engage with a potential supply chain partner, points out BSI.
Howard Kerr, chief executive at BSI, commented, Todays consumers and employees demand integrity from the organizations they deal with. Acting with integrity requires confidence in all those involved in delivering a service; anything else risks brand reputation. The benefit of this new standard is that it helps brands to align their supply chain with their corporate values by adopting an internationally defined framework of good practice for supplier pre-qualification.
Benefits of PAS 7000:
- It is structured and presented to be equally accessible for both suppliers and buyers.
- It is based on international consensus developed by procurement and supply chain professionals drawn from across the United States, EU, and APAC.
- It includes a wide range of potentially relevant topic modules such as capacity and capabilities, environmental management, employment policies, business continuity, traceability and data protection, to name a few.
- The modular approach to the information required permits the building of respective modules into a customized matrix supported by a common set of application principles or rules.
- It provides a degree of flexibility for tailoring the information to particular organizational needs while retaining a robust, repeatable approach.
- It helps mitigate risks and reputational damage.
Kerr adds, This new information model approach involves a concept shift, away from that of providing questions that are to be asked by buyers in order to solicit answers from suppliers to one where there is a generally accepted information model that is provided by suppliers and that is acquired and used by buyers, as required. It is a fundamental change that will hopefully increase transparency and trust in the supply chain, as well as saving time and effort for both suppliers and buyers in the future.
For further information on PAS 7000:2014 Supply Chain Risk Management–Supplier Prequalification and to download the standard free of charge or to purchase a hard copy, visit the BSI Shop Web site.
