How SirionLabs is Helping Clients Maximize Supply Chain Resilience During the COVID-19 Crisis

How resilient is your supply chain?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations would probably respond to that question with an affirmative “very,” as in very resilient. However, and as the current crisis continues to push supply chains to the breaking point, the focus is shifting from what we could have done better to what we need to do now to ensure that our chain of supply remains strong.

In this regard, we must proactively look beyond the problems to find solutions that leverage our depth of experience and expertise. We must also fully utilize technology to assist us in making sure that we are more proactive than reactive.

In this article, we will highlight examples of areas where SirionLabs is helping its customers achieve that “proactive” state consistently to maximize the resiliency and adaptability of their supply chains.

COVID-19 response dashboard

Managing in the dark is an almost impossible task. At a time when you need certainty, clarity through the timely access to data with an advanced analytical capability is critical to making the right decisions.

In response to the disruptive impact that COVID-19 is having on global supply chains, SirionLabs has built a COVID-19 Response Dashboard. This configurable dashboard offers a 360-degree view of contractual relationships across the world (visualized as a world map) with insights into critical areas such as supplier contracts that have missing/hard to find force majeure, insurance, termination, BCP, and other clauses; service levels that could potentially be impacted; and potential impact on revenue caused by the affected suppliers.

Available to all of our customers free of charge, these dashboards are readily accessible to your entire team, whether working remotely or otherwise to maximize collaboration capability.

AI-based contract management

What happens when there is an interruption in your supply chain? How do you navigate a resolution within the framework of an existing contract while still being able to respond to meeting your customer’s needs?

While these are questions for which there must always be ready answers, the urgency brought about by COVID-19 magnifies further the need to understand what options are available within current agreements to address problems as they arise.

While AI has always been a cornerstone of SirionLabs technology, we are launching free of charge new AI-based extraction models. These new models are specifically configured to identify and extract clauses associated with ensuring business continuity, including force majeure, BCP, termination and insurance.

As a result of our COVID-specific enhancements, users can stay on top of their contractual relationships by automatically issuing notices/alerts when invoking a force majeure or other related provision.

Sustaining service levels

The advantages of having timely and reliable access to critical information that is accurately “synthetized” across your entire contract database are self-evident when it comes to meeting your Service Level Requirement commitments.

Sirion is helping clients intelligently identify and assess the impact of the COVID crisis on service levels, obligations, and other T&Cs through insights such as critical and optional obligations, compliance requirements (HIPPA, GDPR, DPA, etc.), which service levels are likely to be affected (delayed, unfulfilled), the resulting delays in project timelines and the potential financial impact. Through this advanced functionality, your organization moves you from an oversight and enforcement position after the fact, to one of proactive insight and resolution in real-time.

Better financial modeling and management

Beyond strategically managing and ensuring the consistent flow of products and services through your supply chain from a logistical standpoint, effective financial management of your supply network is equally important – especially during a crisis.

However, and as a result of increasing uncertainty regarding the impact of the current measures to contain the spread of the virus, the process becomes more complicated due to the potential disruption that affects both the inflow and outflow of capital.

By providing our clients with the ability to manage budget and spend during times of uncertainty strategically, you can meet your financial objectives while still being able to support suppliers in key areas. For example, being able to shorten payment cycles, performing advance billing and clearing outstanding invoices to improve supplier cash flow will create goodwill and strengthen business relationships at a time when strong relationships are needed most.

Looking forward

In times of crisis, such as now with the COVID-19 pandemic, the difficulties we encounter challenge our old ways of thinking and doing things. When it comes to supply chains, it is no different.

Although unprecedented in scope, maintaining a resilient supply network is paramount to not only our clients’ businesses but also to the overall economy in general. SirionLabs will continue to help its clients through these uncertain times by delivering enhanced capabilities specifically designed to protect the supply chain during the COVID-19 crisis.