There are two principles or rules I adhere to in my writing.
The first is that I would rather get it right than be right.
The second—and I just shared this in a discussion stream with David Loseby the other day—is that I always ask somewhat thought-provoking questions to stimulate a dialogue.
“Hi, my friend. How have you been? Your one “standout” difference between Archilies and EcoVadis is incorrect, I’m afraid. – Daniel Perry, Global Alliances Director at EcoVadis
The above is the opening line from an InMail I received from EcoVadis’ Daniel Perry regarding my Achilles post the other day.
I have known Daniel for many years and have always respected his professionalism and honesty in conversations. He is a straight shooter.
When it comes to “data scraping,” here is what he had to say about the EcoVadis solution:
“I think what you may have missed in your research is that EcoVadis Ratings (flagship solution of EcoVadis since it’s inception), involves engaging directly with suppliers, providing them with a questionnaire of material questions (based on the supplier’s size, industry and location) and then the supplier answers the questions by providing documented evidence of their management systems (policies, actions and results). It isn’t simply “web scraping”, though the eventual scorecard is bolstered by including relevant information found on the web. This part of the methodology is called “360 Watch”. Once a company has been rated, their “360 news” is monitored. Please refer to this website for more info:
After talking about EcoVadis IQ+ and other “standalone solutions” like “Vitals and Carbon Manager,” Daniel closed his correspondence with the following:
“Thank you for shining a light on the industry. It would be great if you could make a revision to your blog though, as it is currently misleading and may confuse customers or discredit your fine journalism.
Love your work
Daniel Perry”
Two Important Takeaways
My first takeaway is that, unlike an overcrowded solution map with logos, the Top Ten solution map I am preparing creates a meaningful, transparent, and gut-level dialogue. For my faithful readers on the practitioner side of the table, this provides context beyond Madison Avenue speak amplified by ChatGPT and empty-calorie case (marketing) studies.
The second takeaway is that as an analyst, consultant, non-commissioned sales rep, and marketing expert—that’s right, one should embody all four of these roles in a single package—we must see the forest instead of getting lost in the trees. Real dialogue is the best and only way to get to the truth.
From my standpoint, the degree of scraping notwithstanding, I would have still picked Achilles because of their access, reluctant but willing transparency regarding how I do my thing, and years in business.
Procurement Insights
The EcoVadis Rebuttal Regarding The Achilles Post
Posted on May 28, 2024
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There are two principles or rules I adhere to in my writing.
The first is that I would rather get it right than be right.
The second—and I just shared this in a discussion stream with David Loseby the other day—is that I always ask somewhat thought-provoking questions to stimulate a dialogue.
The above points also underline the shortcomings regarding solution provider maps; they provide a logo but don’t tell you who is behind it. I discussed this in my August 2023 post: Why it’s time for service provider leadership to step out from behind their organizations’ logos.
Dialogue Versus Consensus
“Hi, my friend. How have you been? Your one “standout” difference between Archilies and EcoVadis is incorrect, I’m afraid. – Daniel Perry, Global Alliances Director at EcoVadis
The above is the opening line from an InMail I received from EcoVadis’ Daniel Perry regarding my Achilles post the other day.
I have known Daniel for many years and have always respected his professionalism and honesty in conversations. He is a straight shooter.
When it comes to “data scraping,” here is what he had to say about the EcoVadis solution:
“I think what you may have missed in your research is that EcoVadis Ratings (flagship solution of EcoVadis since it’s inception), involves engaging directly with suppliers, providing them with a questionnaire of material questions (based on the supplier’s size, industry and location) and then the supplier answers the questions by providing documented evidence of their management systems (policies, actions and results).
It isn’t simply “web scraping”, though the eventual scorecard is bolstered by including relevant information found on the web. This part of the methodology is called “360 Watch”. Once a company has been rated, their “360 news” is monitored. Please refer to this website for more info:
https://resources.ecovadis.com/ecovadis-solution-materials/ecovadis-ratings-methodology-overview-and-principles-2022-neutral“
After talking about EcoVadis IQ+ and other “standalone solutions” like “Vitals and Carbon Manager,” Daniel closed his correspondence with the following:
“Thank you for shining a light on the industry. It would be great if you could make a revision to your blog though, as it is currently misleading and may confuse customers or discredit your fine journalism.
Love your work
Daniel Perry”
Two Important Takeaways
My first takeaway is that, unlike an overcrowded solution map with logos, the Top Ten solution map I am preparing creates a meaningful, transparent, and gut-level dialogue. For my faithful readers on the practitioner side of the table, this provides context beyond Madison Avenue speak amplified by ChatGPT and empty-calorie case (marketing) studies.
The second takeaway is that as an analyst, consultant, non-commissioned sales rep, and marketing expert—that’s right, one should embody all four of these roles in a single package—we must see the forest instead of getting lost in the trees. Real dialogue is the best and only way to get to the truth.
From my standpoint, the degree of scraping notwithstanding, I would have still picked Achilles because of their access, reluctant but willing transparency regarding how I do my thing, and years in business.
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