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NEW ARAVO PODCAST SHOWCASES SUPPLIERS IN EMERGING ASIAN MARKETS
Leading Consulting Group WSP Environment & Energy Outlines Top Five Challenges of Developing Relationships with Emerging Market Suppliers
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 4, 2010 —Aravo today announced a new educational podcast focused on supplier management in emerging markets. Entitled "Supply Management in Emerging Asian Markets – An In-Depth View," the podcast features Christopher Hazen, Director (Asia), WSP Environment & Energy, and interviewer Andrew Reese, Editor, Supply & Demand Chain Executive. Topics covered include: building stronger supplier relationships in emerging markets, minimizing the risks of supplier sourcing in Asia, and the impact of corporate sustainability initiatives on global supply chains. The podcast is accessible on Aravo.com. Those who download the podcast will also receive an executive brief from global strategic advisory firm the Hackett Group examining supply management from a resource expenditure perspective.
China is a key focus of the podcast as the country remains the largest and fastest-growing economy in Asia. Developments in China have significant ripple effects throughout Western supply chains as they depend on the broader region as a critical source of supply. As sustainability becomes an increasingly important issue for China and its manufacturers, companies that rely on China-based supply chains face new risks and opportunities. In the podcast, WSP's Chris Hazen shares his perspective on the impact that sustainability is having in both China and on Asia-centric supply chains, and explains how companies can minimize risks while continuing to build relationships with suppliers in emerging markets.
Hazen also outlines the top 5 challenges companies must address when developing relationships with Asian suppliers:
- Establishing a mutual understanding with suppliers
- Setting clear standards for supplier qualification that map to sustainability and compliance goals
- Establishing a consistent approach and sticking with it over the long-term
- Setting realistic, responsible requirements when gathering data from suppliers
- Bringing sustainability in as a critical-to-quality consideration, not just an add-on
WSP Environment & Energy is a global consultancy providing advice on all aspects of environmental, energy, sustainability, climate change, and business risk issues. For more information about WSP Environment & Energy, please visit their web site.
About Aravo
The world's best-run businesses utilize Aravo's SaaS Supplier Information Management platform to reduce the cost of managing suppliers by up to 72% and to transform their supplier on-boarding, compliance, enablement, and risk management challenges into competitive advantage. General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Accenture, and Deutsche Bank rely on Aravo to manage information and processes for over 1.5 million global suppliers. Aravo is based in San Francisco, with offices in Chicago, New York, and Ahmedabad, India, and is backed by over $50 million in investment from Cisco Systems, Big Sky Partners, and the Charles Schwab family. For more information regarding Aravo's award-winning solutions please visit http://www.aravo.com or view our blogs at http://www.2sustain.com and http://atrisk.net.
Public Relations Contact
Marlena Fernandez Berkowitz
Just Smart Communications
mfb@justsmartcommunications.com
303.408.3155
In a recent poll of Fortune 1000 executives, 71.4% of respondents expressed that their biggest concern is risk of supplier financial viability. However, despite these concerns, the majority of respondents have active risk management programs in place for less than 20% of their supplier base.
Source:
Aravo Supply Chain Risk Poll
January 2010
