One of the biggest challenges companies face today is keeping their supplier database up to date.

All of us who use CRM know this problem. People we have in our databases sometimes quit, change departments, and instantly, the data becomes obsolete. When we launch a marketing campaign, we get dozens of messages from recipients bouncing or people saying:

"Ya no estoy en ese departamento”.

Lo mismo pasa en el lado de Compras. La base de datos se rompe de manera muy fácil.

Can Data Rot?

I was recently reading an article comparing data to an apple. The apple lasts as long as it lasts, and it starts to decompose after a while. The same thing happens with supplier data. It's a snapshot of the moment.  

Decía algo como:

"It is an unpleasant experience to bite a sweet-looking apple, only to throw it back after realizing that the apple is rotten inside. The expectation of a delicious apple has been shattered. Now, this is something we'd like to avoid."

You would think data can't rot once it's put into a system. And yes, there is no physical decay because the data will sometimes remain the same and relevant. Some data is even valid forever, for example, the place and date of a company's start.

But others do change. People in suppliers' sales teams quit, they get promoted, the company discontinues a product, adds a new one, goes to new markets, or faces regulatory constraints in others.

Even though corporations have sophisticated procurement software, their databases go rotten from one day to the next.

Can you imagine the effort it would take for a supplier to update their information every time they have a change in each of their customer's purchasing portals? It is unlikely, if not impossible, for this to happen. The result is that las fundaciones de datos de proveedores se desactualizan de manera automática, una y otra vez..

Causes and Side Effects of Rotten Supplier Data

Many factors can cause supplier data to become broken or outdated. As I mentioned, data decay over time is the main culprit. Still, data can also go bad because of human error, a lack of standardization which causes inconsistencies or compatibility issues, and data silos when data is stored in different locations or systems, among others.

Broken data can have serious negative consequences for businesses that rely on accurate and up-to-date information for their decision-making and operations. Some side effects are reduced efficiency, poor supplier relationships, missed opportunities, and increased risk.

How Data Harvesting Can Solve the Challenge of Outdated Data

At Babelus, we understand the importance of having accurate and up-to-date supplier data for your business success. That’s why we have developed a unique solution that can help you overcome the challenge of outdated data and facilitate the discovery of new suppliers without the need for implementation, training, and, best of all, from outside of e-procurement.

Our solution is based on data harvesting, which is the process of visiting and crawling each supplier’s website regularly and autonomously extracting all the data and updating it in our Babelus platform. This way, you can always have access to the most current and relevant information about your existing and potential suppliers.

Through data harvesting, your procurement team will benefit from more accurate, complete, and up-to-date data.

BabelusAI is more than just a supplier data provider. We are a data partner that can help you optimize your procurement processes and achieve your business goals. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you transform your supplier data, or schedule a call now to discuss developing a pilot for your company at no cost.