Streamlining Supplier Onboarding to Reduce Delays and Risk

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“It used to take weeks to get a supplier into the ERP and ready to trade. Now, it takes minutes!”

Slow, manual supplier onboarding causes more than just admin frustration, it can delay projects, block payments and in worst cases, expose the business to significant risk.

This case study looks at how two organisations, a fast-growing data centre operator and the logistics division of a global equipment manufacturer, used Canopy to streamline supplier onboarding, reduce liability and get new vendors approved in minutes, not weeks.

The Companies

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Fortune 100 Heavy Equipment Manufacturer – Transport Division

  • Part of the world’s largest construction machinery company
  • Fortune 100 Enterprise
  • Operates a dedicated transport division to move heavy equipment
  • Manages over 13,000 suppliers, including thousands of subcontractors
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AtlasEdge Data Centres

  • Fast-growing European data centre operator
  • Joint venture between Liberty Global and DigitalBridge
  • Frequently expands through acquisition
  • Needs rapid supplier onboarding to activate new locations

Both companies were dealing with a common challenge: onboarding delays were blocking critical work, causing unnecessary admin load and introducing hidden compliance risks that traditional processes failed to catch.

The Challenge

Procurement teams were:

  • Missing expired documents and compliance gaps
  • Collecting supplier data and documents by email
  • Manually entering records into ERP systems
  • Waiting days or weeks before a PO could be issued

In one case, a previously onboarded third-party haulier was used to transport a large piece of machinery. Their insurance had expired, and no one was aware. During transit, the equipment fell from the trailer and seriously injured a bystander.

The haulier wasn’t covered so the full liability, a seven-figure settlement, fell to the company.

The Solution

Canopy became the single onboarding system for both businesses, making supplier approval faster, clearer and safer.

Quick Supplier Invites
ERP-Ready Profiles
Built-In Accountability
Automated Compliance Checks
Time-Locked Approval Workflow

The Results

By implementing Canopy, both companies:

Reduced onboarding time from 2–3 weeks to under 30 minutes
Eliminated delays to POs and payments caused by missing records
Gained real-time visibility into supplier status and compliance
Prevented future incidents by flagging expired or incomplete documentation
Removed admin burden from procurement teams

That supplier would never have been used if we had Canopy. Their expired insurance would have been flagged before the job even started.”

Summary

When onboarding is slow or incomplete, teams work around it, and that’s when things go wrong.

With Canopy, these organisations created a faster, safer onboarding process that gave control back to procurement, removed delays and reduced serious risk.

Whether you manage hundreds or thousands of suppliers, Canopy ensures everyone follows the same, simple process, so that nothing gets missed.

Want to untangle your supplier data?