Aravo’s 500,000 Supplier Deployment -- SaaS and SIM in the Big Leagues

Earlier today, Aravo announced its latest customer win, a supplier information management (SIM) deployment that spans “500,000 Suppliers, Six Languages, [and] Ten Countries” at GE. According to the announcement, “GE manages what is arguably one of the world's most complex supply chains, conducting business with over 500,000 suppliers across thousands of entities.” While I can’t validate Aravo’s claim that this is the largest SaaS deal in the market, I don’t doubt it either. But what is more remarkable is not the software deployment approach -- it’s the sheer numbers of suppliers that GE will be managing in a self-service model with Aravo. Not only will the cost savings be significant -- it will provide unprecedented visibility into a huge, global supply base. A GE manager involved with the project suggested in the announcement that, “the service allows us to syndicate the information to our various purchasing, accounts payable, and other systems so that we can have one consolidated view of what's going on with all of our suppliers." Stay tuned for further analysis of this news in the coming week after I have a chance to pin down the Aravo team at the SustainPro conference and breakfast tomorrow morning.

- Jason Busch