CanQualify vs. Avetta: Comparing Supplier Management Solutions

CanQualify, like Avetta, is a contractor / supplier management and prequalification provider. The below content will help sort out a few differentiating factors and FAQs when comparing CanQualify to Avetta.

When it comes to supplier management software, many providers offer services and tactics to secure the client. However, they too often seem to mirror each other with automatic renewals, auditing services, and mandates based on the number of individuals employed by the supplier company having to manage its data. CanQualify takes an alternate approach and focuses on realistic terms priced competitively and not on employee headcount.

Contractor management can be a monumental task, especially when managing data and statistics. When considering the service side of the industry, many companies lack the financial means and resources to employ an individual with skills dedicated solely to the entry and validation of company data on a contractor management website.

Taking into consideration the current economic challenges, supplier (contractor, vendor) management duties are often directed to an existing employee. Enter the company safety professional. CanQualify steers compliance in a palatable and efficient direction, making the workload less of a hindrance for the already busy company safety professional.

Main differentiators when using CanQualify vs. Avetta for Contractor – Supplier Management and Prequalification solutions:

• No Automatic Upgrades for Suppliers.
• No push for costly and/or often unnecessary audits.
• Pricing is fair, reasonable, and affordable to even smaller suppliers with no set-up fees.
• Customer Service with a Hands-on Approach. No need for a supplier to hire a third party to help with complicated registration.

Automatic Upgrade Policy

The term “upgrade” typically causes financial indigestion as it means the entity receiving the upgrade will end up distributing more funds. With some supplier management companies, upgrades can be automatic, and the contractor often does not even realize they are paying for it until after the completed transaction appears on their credit card statement. That type of practice does not let the contractor decide if the service is worth the expenditure.

CanQualify offers an alternative that is easier on the wallet and much more helpful and recognizable for its use. With not every upgrade being defined as chargeable, the service provider exercises limitations.

CanQualify charges a specific rate for DocuQual, a prequalification questionnaire and document collection service. Another individualized fee is levied for SafetyQual, a safety statistics and incident report gathering and review service. If the contractor is affiliated with a customer who requires both DocuQual and SafetyQual, the contractor pays for each service. If safety data is not required, then the contractor only pays for the one service that is required. This transparency assures the contractor that they are paying only for services that they need.

CanQualify also accounts for an interesting scenario. If a hiring client only utilizes the DocuQual service but later requires the SafetyQual service, CanQualify does not automatically charge for this as an upgrade to the supplier if safety statistics were previously collected. Competitors, on the other hand, take advantage of the financial possibilities.

Companies can be opportunists and many contractor management companies are no exception. Identifying a connection between a hiring client and contractor, CanQualify’s competitors often institute automatic upgrades as soon as the connection is made. This proves unfair and can go unnoticed because the contractor has no avenue to issue approval for the connection. The hiring client initiates the connection, and the contractor supplier receives the fee. A counter to those measures is the capability for an approval process to the connection. The suppliers then have the opportunity to determine if the connection is financially viable because they can accept or reject the connection before any charges occur.

CanQualify provides choices and then guidance through the entire contractor and supplier management process.

Audit Protocols

Audits are add-on services or amended practices where many contactor management companies earn a significant portion of their income. Some contractor prequalification sites exhaust the auditing procedure by repeating it continually. In this business model, a supplier who is audited at any time will constantly pay the audited price even if they no longer need the auditing service. Avetta has a once audited always audited approach.

CanQualify, on the other hand, subscribes to a more reasonable approach because a robust prequalification process eliminates the need for continuous auditing in most cases. While maintaining that audits are essential, CanQualify only promotes this feature when they are necessary. For companies that exhibit great strides in safety management and display a proven compliance track record, prequalification is generally a viable means of verification and validation.

The auditing process should be utilized as a means of guiding companies to contractor management compliance. The auditing process identifies deficiencies and invokes a level of penalty to ensure key performance indicators of improvement are thoroughly implemented. CanQualify views this practice as a benefit to companies who are either still operating in a growth phase and the preliminary beginnings of an applicable EHS program or, those who may lack proper safety procedures. The auditing process can assist in enabling success.

CanQualify partners with its clients and promotes growth and maturity regarding compliance and the need for auditing. When a contractor has improved their policy and their EHS ratings, the need for auditing can potentially dissipate. As a result, the fees could subsequently dissipate as well.

Pricing

While many competitors charge clients and their suppliers with setup charges, as well as the automatic upgrades previously mentioned, many contractor management sites also blanket customers with overall inflated pricing for services rendered.

CanQualify continues to stand in a separate spotlight from the competition and refrains from charging for setup and automatic upgrades while keeping a significant distance from hidden charges. An association between clients and contractors with a differing prequalification criterion is welcomed and does not succumb to additional charges as mandated by CanQualify’s competition.

Companies like Avetta, ISN and others, focusing on employee number as a price influencer for some programs. CanQualify renders a different strategy and as a result, does not charge based on total number of employees that work for the contractor company but only those that are required to complete the orientation or training. This feature is proactive in reducing astronomical fees that seriously hinder the user’s financial bottom line and often prices out the smaller companies from competing for work.

Payment should only be sought for the services provided. Additionally, CanQualify’s supplier management software encompasses the ability to differentiate between the work contractors perform. It also can base prices on safety-sensitive and non-safety sensitive measures.

Those contractors who are considered non-safety sensitive may not be required to provide EHS information and data. As a result, they would incur a lower annual feel than those contractors deemed safety-sensitive.

CanQualify offers another tier to the fee schedule for contact-only contractor and offers a free membership to these suppliers. This contractor type includes those who provide a remote service or product to the client but never visit or populate the client’s site. With this being the case, the contractor’s EHS standards or overall policy would not bear the client’s operation. As a result, prequalification would not be needed. Remaining faithful to the mantra of only charging for a service provided, CanQualify directs a pricing structure representing service limitations. The purpose is to allow clients to house all supplier, contractor, sub-contractor and vendor contact info in one convenient location.

Customer Service with a Hands-on Approach

Nothing more frustrating can be had with supplier management software providers than the lack of quality for customer support. Avetta and other sites have developed an automated online customer service feature and recommend its use over the traditional hands-on and telephone call options. Unfortunately, the contractors often get frustrated because online videos run parallel with the fact that customer support through video, lacks a personal touch that most individuals seek when needing help.

This has led to third-party companies entering the field to assist suppliers through the registration and prequalification process – which further increases the costs to contractors.

CanQualify recognizes this notion as a problem and alternately offers a solution. Providing premier customer service through assignment serves as a breath of fresh air to all users and EHS personnel. Tracking issues is made easy because as a CanQualify user, the same individual or customer support team stands ready to aid as needed continually. Problems and solutions are now easily trackable as the same people continue to provide the service.

While Avetta provides customer support, it tends to drop off and focuses on videos guiding its users through registration and prequalification. CanQualify provides the professional customer service as part of their overall package. Again, hidden fees do not enter the CanQualify business model and offers an individually crafted support feature, complete with assigned personnel, to lead the way to compliance.

The Better Choice on all Fronts

CanQualify surpasses Avetta and the competition in meeting its customers’ needs by providing a user-friendly and cost-efficient solution to contractor management and supplier prequalification through a strategy containing assessment and industry standards. Respect paired with customer service excellence allows for a personal and successful approach in prequalification and compliance validation.

Offering a proactive and straightforward pricing structure, CanQualify can deploy a program that extends the reach in contractor and supplier management. Pricing rings up as fair while all areas of supplier management receive equal attention, not just those that drive an extravagance of revenue for the other supplier management providers.