Critical Supply Chain Intelligence for a Government Agency

Pandemic-induced demand remains high for many products, but U.S. buyers are struggling to get shipments from Asia due to continued backlogs at ports.^[1] Cargo limitations on steamships, coupled with a lack of available equipment and staff needed to haul products away from facilities, have created ongoing congestion. In addition, a container ship that recently blocked the Suez Canal generated a ripple effect on the global supply chain system. Understanding these disruptions and identifying viable sources of products is essential for procurement teams to meet stakeholder needs.

The supply relationships and procurement team at this large state government is responsible for purchasing a wide array of products for the region’s schools, hospitals, and infrastructure programs. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was an immediate need to understand the many supply chain disruptions taking place across the world, and quickly identify reliable providers of gloves, facemasks, gowns, ventilators, and other sought-after items.

Pain Points

The supply relationships and procurement team previously relied on established contacts for delivery of many products. Their immediate need for personal protective equipment (PPE), alongside increased disruption to secure reliable supplies, called for a new way of working. Team members needed simplified online access to detailed trade data that would enable them to:

• Monitor overall buying-selling activities of PPE to and from countries to better understand global trends.
• Identify specific suppliers, along with their customer base and shipping history.
• Dig deeper on companies to vet their financial performance and identify any possible risks.
• Quickly obtain contact information to speak to buying firms about their experiences and to suppliers to put deals into motion.

The team had heard about supply chain intelligence from S&P Global Market Intelligence (“Market Intelligence”) from other government agencies and reached out to learn more about the offering.

The Solution

Market Intelligence discussed its Panjiva Supply Chain Intelligence solution that provides unrivaled data on every stage of the global supply chain — from manufacturers and buyers to shipping and logistics. The web-based platform with powerful analytical tools would enable the team to:

Key Benefits

Members of the supplier relationships and procurement team were impressed with the ability to have instant access to an extensive amount of trade data to identify potential suppliers of much needed PPE. They saw many benefits to subscribing to the Panjiva offering, including the ability to:

• Easily slice and dice large amounts of trade data to quickly look at relevant information for the state.
• Use powerful search capabilities to zero-in on suppliers of multiple types of PPE.
• Look at a supplier’s trade history to evaluate a company’s time in business and the typical profile of its buyers.
• Review a company’s profile and financial position as part of the due diligence process.
• Evaluate the purchasing history of similar government agencies to understand established relationships and utilize contact information to reach out and discuss experiences with suppliers.
• Increase productivity with dashboards that summarize essential information.
• Get to suppliers quickly by leveraging their contact details.
• Generate reports to share with other team members to support their efforts.
• Receive daily emails regarding the most vital information about global trade.