LexisNexis Launches Game-Changing Risk Monitoring Tool For Supply Management Professionals

LexisNexis SmartWatch provides better intelligence to proactively manage supply chain risk.

London (PRWEB UK) - LexisNexis® Legal & Professional (http://www.lexisnexis.com), a leading global provider of content and technology solutions, today announced the UK launch of LexisNexis® SmartWatch, a game-changing, risk monitoring tool for supply management professionals.

Drawing upon the vast LexisNexis collection of global news content and proprietary risk event tagging, LexisNexis SmartWatch algorithms score and surface concerns about an organisation’s suppliers and supply management partners, based upon each enterprise’s particular risk profile. LexisNexis SmartWatch—for which a patent is pending—then utilises unique information visualisation techniques, which enable supply management and procurement professionals to efficiently monitor thousands of suppliers for disruptive events that might affect their supply chain.

Hundreds of risk events are pre-defined, scored and categorised into the six “PESTLE” categories used by supply management professionals to understand and manage supplier-specific and macro challenges associated with global sourcing: Political, Economic, Societal, Technical, Legal and Environmental. The product assesses not only the supplier company, but also its location and its industry, against the risk categories, providing the most comprehensive and actionable insights. Examples of unpredictable events include bankruptcies and early warnings of financial difficulties, such as layoffs, re-statements of earnings, executive moves and more. Other such events include strikes, natural disasters, commodity shortages, product recalls, new regulations, cyber theft, counterfeit goods and other situations.

The LexisNexis SmartWatch user simply clicks on a colour-coded cell to view the news events that have generated the risk score for quick, actionable insight. Only risky events are surfaced, ensuring highly relevant results to help companies and organisations discover and prepare for various types of business disruptions across thousands of suppliers.

LexisNexis SmartWatch results are gathered from more than 26,000 authoritative, global news sources, including local, regional and international news publications, industry and trade journals, legal and regulatory analyses, business and financial editorial, and more.

“It’s important to understand who you are doing business with. This is particularly pertinent – and challenging – when sourcing products and services from areas where environmental and labour regulations may be poorly enforced,” said Rob Veneboer, managing director for LexisNexis International Business Information Solutions. “LexisNexis SmartWatch helps procurement and supply management professionals proactively monitor and identify risk beyond just a financial stress score. The comprehensive and timely intelligence provided by LexisNexis SmartWatch enables companies to protect their bottom lines and their reputations.”

LexisNexis SmartWatch gives users the ability to proactively uncover hidden dangers, prioritise sensitive situations, track trends over time, avoid costly business interruptions and quickly develop liability mitigation strategies to resolve issues with suppliers, vendors and customers.

LexisNexis SmartWatch was developed in close cooperation with the award-winning procurement organisation of Reed Elsevier, along with supply chain management professionals from other companies, representing many industry sectors. Prototypes were tested and feedback was provided throughout the development process.

“LexisNexis SmartWatch is intuitive, easy-to-use and insightful, and we are excited to have played a role in its development,” says Lisa Bowling, Chief Procurement Officer for Reed Elsevier. “It will provide us with more comprehensive and proactive awareness of potential risks in our supply base. With LexisNexis SmartWatch we will be able to more effectively monitor critical suppliers, while expanding our ability to track a broader base of strategic and preferred suppliers that cannot be efficiently monitored today.”

More information about the UK launch of LexisNexis SmartWatch is available at http://www.lexisnexisrisk.co.uk/smartwatch.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organisations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content, to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organisations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. Part of Reed Elsevier, LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 100 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide.