In 1882, Spaniards in Barcelona began construction on the large Roman Catholic Church commonly known as the Sagrada Familia. The church was designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi who took responsibility for the project in 1883. However, the construction project outlived its designer carrying on into the 20th century. In the 1900s, financing challenges and a Civil War both delayed the project, which is still underway today. In fact, it was only two years ago in 2010 that Sagrada Familia reached the midway point in its construction. Some describe the Barcelona church as the project that will never end. Those of us in the B2B e-commerce sector can relate to the construction crews working on Sagrada Familia. Unfortunately, anyone involved with a trading partner on-boarding project knows all too well the concept of a never ending project.
One of the greatest challenges with community on-boarding comes from smaller trading partners. Large manufacturers and retailers have hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers that offer specialized merchandise or parts critical to their supply chains. These smaller companies typically lack the resources, budget or experience to respond to their customer’s requests to exchange forecasts, orders, inventory, logistics and payment data electronically. As more businesses have sourced internationally over the past few decades B2B e- commerce has expanded into emerging markets. However, small companies in China, India, Brazil and Southeast Asia are even more challenged to support B2B requests than their peers in Western Europe and North America. As a result, few companies achieve 100% trading partner participation. Many fail to on-board even 60% of their community.
Image Source: http://www.gaudiallgaudi.com
Small businesses are not the only challenge companies face with trading partner on-boarding. For many companies the list of trading partners is a moving target. Each month the sales organization is tasked with selling into new accounts. Many of these new customers may want to exchange purchase orders, ship notices or invoices electronically. For most companies the mix of suppliers is constantly evolving as well. Retailers are always seeking out new merchandise suppliers to capitalize on market trends and to differentiate their product selection. Manufacturers re-evaluate the sources for component parts and raw materials at the beginning of each product lifecycle. Inevitably lower prices or new technologies results in the displacement of several incumbent vendors with alternative suppliers.
At some point the construction of the Sagrada Familia will end. Currently the target completion date for the cathedral is 2026, the 100-year anniversary of its designer’s death. But something tells me that even if the church is finished 14 years from now, most companies will not have achieved anywhere close to 100% trading partner participation in B2B e-commerce initiatives.
2 Responses to “Trading Partner On-Boarding – The Project that Never Ends”
Great post, onboarding always seems to be in Work-in-Progress and is difficult to replicate. Let’s hope that changes and IT onboarding can one day become simpler than building the sangrada familia
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