The Case for Industrial Digital Data Sharing and How to Decrease Risk by Linking Transparency, Compliance and Accountability

Companies are only as proactive, effective and organised as the employees inside and the tools available to them. Having worked in the industry for almost a decade and having worked with many companies globally of all sizes, including the biggest, I noticed that all share the exact same problems and suboptimal processes. The largest being that existing software doesn’t integrate producers to their industrial-buyers, automate processes or cover the final steps of the supply-chain - Which is why we built the Timber Exchange.

It is fully understandable that industrial companies deeply protect confidential information such as client lists, prices, contracts and much else. However this comes at the expense of suboptimal risk management, process efficiency, performance analysis, which in turns directly decreases accountability and compliance internally but also with partners. It is well studied that the most competitive companies possess not only the most flexible and efficient supply-chains but also that forward-thinking companies that are connected, operate and produce better results.

For industrial parties conducting business, both parties will through-out the deal life-cycle share deal critical information which will be organised, processed and analysed. The current way of cooperation, information sharing and collaboration requires double-entry and manual processes and multiple tools which can lead to errors on multiple sides.

That is why securely sharing data and increasing transparency with approved trade partners and colleagues provides the opportunity to not only reduce the risk of errors, save time, improve employee and customer satisfaction but also provide long-term financial, strategic and competitive benefits for both producers and industrial-buyers.

Because transparency when integrated with processes and validation can ensure compliance to contracts, terms, instructions, regulations and much else. Which when combined with measuring progress and compliance allows not only for the automation of processes but most importantly the reduction of constant human assistance.