Many payables professionals spend too much time providing trade reference information to prospective suppliers, or current suppliers who are updating their credit files. Though most companies usually compile this information onto a standard form and then fax or e-mail it to suppliers, some compile it from scratch every time they receive a request (!).
An excellent solution is to post this information on the company web site, preferably in a section of the website that is already devoted to supplier issues. Example sites that use this approach are as follows:
Most of these sites contain trade and bank references, as well as a tax ID number and DUNS number. Harvard even lists the year of its founding (1636), though I seriously doubt that many suppliers doubt its ability to pay!
If taking this approach, be sure to advise references of the posting, since it may increase the volume of information requests that they receive. Also, create a procedure to update this web page at least once a year. Finally, do your suppliers a favor and create an e-mail link on the web page to each reference, so that they can send messages to your suppliers with a single mouse click.