“As the need for SIM is better understood by organisations of all sizes, not all will want to engage with global giants such as IBM or SAP, or perhaps need the global network and reach of an Achilles. So there are opportunities for other providers to carve out their own niche here. One firm who are hoping to do that is Trade Interchange.

"The basis of the SIM platform is supplier information provided by suppliers via on-line forms. There are suggested templates, varying by spend category, and the registration process is made simple for suppliers with good feedback and signposting. Buyers can approve suppliers by category, and then use the data to search and filter based on a range of criteria to find suppliers or create tender lists. Suppliers manage and update their own profiles.”

“From our relatively brief look at the product, it is clear, intuitive and easy to use. It obviously does rely on suppliers to populate, and there is no verification, but as a first step for those wanting to put in place basic supplier control (as we talked about earlier), it should meet the needs of many organisations, at low cost, and with easy implementation.”

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