I still wonder why none of the procurement industry heavyweights or Silicon Valley start-ups has thought to create and run a global Yelp-style website for vendors’ reviews. If we want to find a sushi nearby — we use Yelp and if we want to check hotel ratings at Aruba – TripAdvisor is the way to go, to check out employer — Glassdoor, but if we want to find a leading vendor for marketing supplies somewhere in the north region of France, we are only presented with choice to either Google it or ask somebody via LinkedIn or phone for recommendations. And at the end of the day we will still be in an unclear position since every vendor treats them as Great, always.
Globalization, digitalization, and centralization are general industry goals & objectives, but I want to have the same tools in B2B area that I also have in my iPhone for personal matters on a daily basis.
I think that local and global procurement professionals will support the development of such a platform (website) with positive feedbacks, and vendors will do their utmost best to earn high ratings, just as hotels and restaurants on Yelp do. And this situation will challenge them to offer better quality and innovation on delivery. Another plus is the improvement that comes with competitiveness. Yes, small businesses can increase trust and visibility.
LinkedIn can offer this feature as well based on their company’s database, but only when they finish with their continuous design improvements. They are too busy, obviously.
@olegremizov
20-July-2017