The reason that suppliers are asked for the same information over and over is that data systems are closed or exclusive (often to the suppliers themselves, despite extracting data from them), siloed and incomplete, or only available to those prepared to pay for access, or who are already part of a specific community.

But what if, instead, basic operating information about suppliers was open and accessible, built collectively to fill in each other’s gaps, and available to anyone connected to that supplier, including the supplier themselves?