State of Flux (SupplierBase): Vendor Analysis, 2022 Update (Part 1) — SxM solution overview, market analysis, tech selection tips

Part 1 of this Spend Matters PRO Vendor Analysis 2022 update provides an overview of State of Flux’s SxM solution, SupplierBase, formerly Statess, a look at competitors, and offers tech selection tips. Part 2 examines the solution strengths/weaknesses, provides a detailed overview of each module and an analyst summary.

UK-based State of Flux helps customers transform their SRM practices. To do so, the company provides services (consulting and training) and a software solution, SupplierBase, that supports the methodology and philosophy of State of Flux. The best practice model consists of six pillars: value, engagement, governance, people, technology and collaboration.

State of Flux developed its approach based on the realization that many organizations practicing SRM do only Supplier Management. Supplier Management (vs SRM) is more of a one-way street where suppliers are considered simple necessities. By forgetting that the R in SRM stands for relationship, Supplier Management organizations are often missing value generated from partnerships with strategic suppliers beyond the traditional remit of procurement savings.

There is also a certain symmetry in SRM as the ‘S’ that stands for supplier can also mean stakeholders. Procurement via SRM exists to connect suppliers and stakeholders, and act as a facilitator; hence what the author calls SRM2.

Recent events and their impacts on business/supply continuity have shown how organizations that had developed strong relationships with their (strategic) suppliers could perform better than those that had not. They were often given access to resources (manpower, inventory, raw materials, etc.) when others were not. Also, such organizations supported suppliers who needed it. This point illustrates the interdependence of modern business ecosystems and the fact that, as detailed in our ESG series (ESG and sustainability in procurement, for example), an organization’s performance (and survival) is strongly dependent on the performance (and survival) of a broader ecosystem.

The above describes, in a nutshell, the approach of State of Flux with regards to SRM and what SupplierBase, its SxM solution, embodies. SupplierBase is a platform that drives value for companies with a range of maturity across different industries. Customers come from a wide range of sectors and tend to be large companies (especially the ones that also use State of Flux consulting services). More recently, mid-sized businesses also started using SupplierBase to enhance their SRM maturity.

Here’s why State of Flux matters:

• To the market — Among all SxM solutions on the market, many are just providing features, whereas SupplierBase delivers State of Flux’s best practice SRM framework.
• To customers — SupplierBase helps customers maximize value and transparency across the supply chain, providing a single interface that reveals all supplier-related information both as a primary data source and connected with some third-party data sources.
• To potential buyers — To potential buyers: SupplierBase is more than its features. It embodies a broader approach to SRM and is backed by an organization with deep experience in supplier management.