News

Supply Chain Risk Management – More Relevant Than Ever! says, Source Intelligence’s President Matt Thorn

Published

4 years ago

10/02/2020

Kokou Adzo

Table of Contents

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Matt Thorn: All fine, thanks.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Source Intelligence

Matt Thorn: I’m originally from the UK, now living in San Diego, CA. I co-founded the company over 10 years ago with a serial entrepreneur who had recently exited his previous company. My background is in technology, having worked previously for the British government in defence research, Ericsson in Sweden, and a number of startup companies in the UK, Australia, and the US.

How does Source Intelligence innovate?

Matt Thorn: We are constantly redefining how Supply Chain Compliance & Risk Management can be achieved. When we started in this industry, it was mostly a consulting approach, Used several people and spreadsheets to get things done. We introduced the first Supply Chain SaaS platform, followed by the first 24/7 Supplier Engagement center to handle supply chain support. The first AI-powered processing for Compliance documentation and the first Virtual Audit system with AI support. We have many more inventions on our roadmap and are excited to be able to leverage the latest in commercial technology into the supply chain compliance space.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Matt Thorn: We were fortunate to be able to transition fairly seamlessly to having our team be fully remote. From when we started, we always tried to minimize local IT infrastructure and implemented a cloud-first mentality. This has served us well in these dramatic times. The pandemic has highlighted again the need for a robust and resilient supply chain, which has brought a renewed interest in our supply chain risk management solutions.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Matt Thorn: We started our company during the credit crunch. It wasn’t an easy time to start a company, but we learned early that persistence, creativity, and a focus on customer service pay off. We use that same strategy to work through this latest upheaval relatively unscathed.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety, how do you project yourself and Source Intelligence in the future?

Matt Thorn: I spend time working out and working on projects at home and with my kids. I keep an emotional journal to allow myself to reflect on how I’m feeling over time. I try to keep perspective on my business and how it is only a part of my life. I feel very optimistic about our future. I think supply chain compliance and risk management will continue to gain importance and continue to innovate and lead in this field.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Matt Thorn: Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen competitors come and go, often with far more funding than us. We’ll stay in the game by focusing on providing a great customer experience, innovating, and operating a sustainable company built for the long term.