Vulnerability in the supply chain

As business models become more complex, employees more technologically empowered and cross-border partnerships becoming more the norm, the on-boarding of new suppliers and supply chains puts every organisation into a position of vulnerability.

Indeed, supply chain compliance is an enterprise wide responsibility, and collaboration with both client and customer is essential to effectively manage compliance requirements and minimise any interruptions to operations.

Businesses need complete visibility and transparency when on-boarding a new customer to add to their supply chain. Relying on information from new clients or suppliers is not fool-proof, extending the exposure to risk because self-disclosed information simply might not be sufficient.

Few companies are able to provide historic data on themselves and often lack of accurate/historic information of their supply chain customers; thus leaving organisations vulnerable.

The primary risk is not knowing who you are really doing business with, and whether companies lower down the supply chain have an effective risk programme in place, and follow rules and regulations. Third party suppliers with poor security standards, for example, can prove to be a weak link in defences against the business.

So, it always beneficial to know your clients’ and customers’ business history; from their business affiliations to the ultimate beneficiary owners (UBO). That said, gathering information manually absorbs resources from a business and relies heavily on the effective execution of people and processes. Contextually, when there’s a procurement need, it’s often time critical and any delays in an on-boarding can result in loss of revenue, opportunities, service disruption, not to mention the unintended loss of trust within the newly forming relationship. A situation that gives rise to reputational damage in multiple directions.

Covering all the top markets of the MENA & SSA regions including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa ClarifiedBy provides accurate and trusted information on companies, shareholders and their corporate interests* in territories where public information is not readily available. ClarifiedBy provides a clear view of the facts and a solid foundation for decision-making.

Along with the reliability of the information held within ClarifiedBy, the major differentiator is the reassurance all information has been verified by official sources. Coupled with visualisation tools, such as our network diagrams to display cross border relationships, ClarifiedBy empowers teams to diligently qualify supply chains at speed, with total confidence and without the costly disruption to the business.