Risk and Incident Management Systems

A third category of systems that are now available to help companies to manage, monitor, and report on supply chain activities are risk-, knowledge-, and information-gathering programs. There are various IT related services, ranging from specific risk and incident management systems to everyday corporate e-mail, information search facilities, hotlines, skills databases, and specialist networks. Many of these systems already exist in the modern company, but hitherto have seldom been focused specifically on providing information and management guidance for supplier sourcing and risk management. Good examples include:

• Portals, Groupware, and E-Mail. Probably one of the most important-applications available for ensuring an ethical supply chain is simply extending the existing company portal, as well as its groupware and e-mail services, to help to communicate standards, codes of conduct, and corporate news and expectations to employees and suppliers around the world. Developing a database of Frequently Asked Questions for suppliers, as well as providing original documentation for standards, codes, policies, and procedures online, can be used almost universally to communicate real-time with supplier management (if not employees ) in factories worldwide.

• Hotlines and Confidential Reporting Systems. In keeping with new requirements for confidential hotlines now required in the United States, a worldwide confidential hotline can be a valuable tool for supplier (or company) employees who discover unethical or illegal activities happening at supplier sites.

• Business Research and Analysis and Reputation Scanning Tools. One of the great advantages of the Internet is that, just as corporate misbehavior can instantly be transmitted globally, companies can monitor their own reputation in the online and printed press worldwide. There are many new packages that provide this reputation scanning service, which can help a company understand at all times potential hot issues, including how their company s or suppliers names are featured in the press, political or economic changes in their operating territories , potential supplier infractions, or new legislation or litigation that could have an effect on supply chain operations.

• Risk and Incident Management Systems. One of the most important advancements in this area are systems which provide analytical tools for identifying potential risks within the company or the supply chain, and converting those risks into easy-to-understand reports for the various parties involved in managing risk within an organization ” the board, the CEO, the CERO, and the supplier program team members .

The Entegra Corporation, for example, has an enterprise risk management system known as Ki4, which includes more than 220 preconfigured reports, and 70 query functions so that managers can view risk data in ways that are most meaningful to them. The system also provides an interface to other applications, including all the standard spreadsheets and data processing packages.

Ki4 Risk and Reputation System is an enterprise technology solution, explains Jim Kartalia, Entegra s CEO, that provides executives and managers with an ˜early warning system to organize all data associated with corporate incidents and issues.

These risk reports that are produced by Ki4 go to the ethics committee-of companies and can literally be reviewed in ten minutes a day, keeping the company informed about any issues that have come up over the last 24 hours. ^{[10 ]}

^{[10 ]} Interview with Jim Kartalia, January 23, 2003.