Public Spend Forum and NC State University's Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, launch survey to map and verify suppliers for COVID-19 equipment and supplies

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Spend Forum (PSF), a Washington D.C.-based startup focused on providing public sector supplier intelligence, launched a COVID-19 Supplier Survey in partnership with NC State University's Supply Chain Resource Cooperative.

The survey and ongoing supplier research efforts by PSF and NC State have three primary objectives including 1) understanding the capacity and ability of suppliers to meet demand for critical equipment and supplies, 2) verify suppliers in order to increase quality and reduce fraudulent supply chain activity and 3) develop a network optimization model that can be used to better match demand and supply. 

The data is being collected by PSF on its supplier intelligence platform, GovShop, where government agencies can then access the data to inform real time purchasing decisions. The data is also being shared with the U.S. Government's Joint Acquisition Task Force and other organizations involved in addressing supply chain issues related to COVID-19.

"In a fast moving and volatile environment, continuously updated supply chain data is key to saving lives and reducing the impact of COVID-19. Customer data, in terms of what is needed and where, is just as critical," said Professor Handfield, Executive Director of the NC State Supply Chain Resource Cooperative.

One critical issue faced by government agencies and healthcare workers is separating good suppliers from potentially fraudulent ones, a challenge that the survey is addressing. "Verifying suppliers and weeding out the bad actors is a critical part of supplier validation. We are applying proven methods to ensure suppliers are verified before being passed on to government," said Raj Sharma, CEO of PSF.

The data is already proving to deliver results. In a recent interview on NBC Washington, Sharma cited an example where it took a Joint Acquisition Task Force member from the Air Force only "4 minutes to find face shields on GovShop." 

Learn more about these efforts and participate in this survey to support an efficient COVID response:
https://www.publicspendforum.net/covid-19-supplier-survey/

About Public Spend Forum
Public Spend Forum (PSF) is a global market and supplier intelligence platform for public sector markets. Through its free supplier intelligence platform GovShop, PSF provides local/state/federal and international government agencies to conduct comprehensive market, supplier and contract research.

About NC State's Supply Chain Resource Cooperative
The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative serves as a thought leader in the increasingly complex and competitive supply chain industry; documenting and disseminating new supply chain management knowledge to help companies, practitioners, and students.

SOURCE Public Spend Forum

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