ISN is a global leader in contractor and supplier management. And the company supports nearly 800 Hiring Clients in capital-intensive industries to help manage more than 78,000 contractors and suppliers with operations in over 80 countries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ISN CEO Joe Eastin to learn more about the company.
Formation Of ISN
How did the idea for ISN come together? Eastin said:
“In 2001, Bill Addy and I identified a need to track employee-level training and qualifications for contractors working for operators in the pipeline industry. The solution – ISNetworld.”
“Although ISN’s start in 2001 was helping companies in the Oil and Gas Pipeline industry, by 2004, other Oil and Gas companies in the Upstream (Exploration and Production) and Downstream (Refining, Marketing, and Commercial Distribution) verticals began using ISNetworld. In 2006, the Canadian business units of their US counterparts began using ISNetworld as a solution for managing their contractors, first, in the Athabasca oil sands in Western Canada, and ultimately in Eastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario.”
“Along with the expansion outside of domestic operations, ISN realized the need for companies to manage contractors outside of the Oil and Gas industry. While regulations and requirements may differ from industry to industry, the need for contractor management remains the same. To close out the first decade in business, ISN expanded to the Asia Pacific and European markets and continued to extend its presence in various industries, including Steel, Mining, Pharmaceuticals, Paper and Packaging, Food, Beverage and Automotive. Today, ISN supports customers in more than 30 industries spanning more than 85 countries.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Eastin explained:
“At its core, ISN is built by its people, and we take great pride in putting our people at the center of our processes. ISN’s platform, ISNetworld, serves as a world-class forum for sharing industry best practices, benchmarking performance, providing data insights among its members and helping decision-makers, including board members, ensure contractor and supplier risk is assessed and monitored. Additionally, ISN offers industry-leading contractor management software focusing on health, safety, compliance, and transparent supply-chain sourcing.”
Transparency-On Acquisition
Back in September, ISN acquired Transparency-One so I asked Eastin about how the deal came together. Eastin replied:
“Over the years, we have evaluated dozens of potential acquisitions, but most of them did not fit our cultural or financial profile. Since 2020, we have also been spending additional time evaluating different Supply Chain/ESG technologies. Transparency-One came to us from our Investment Partner, Blackstone. We were immediately impressed with the team, business, and technology. Over the next several weeks, our confidence grew that we could leverage what we have learned in 20+ years of operating ISN to expand our problem-solving capabilities with current and new customers via Transparency-One supplier mapping.”
Evolution Of ISN’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Eastin noted:
“Over the years, as the amount of industrial work being outsourced to contractors grew, so did ISN’s product and service offerings. What started as a digital solution to track employee-level data quickly developed into a broader platform collecting, and ultimately reviewing, company-level information such as insurance, safety programs, and HSEQ questionnaires originally captured through paper records.”
“ISN has focused on expanding its product offerings to include Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), cybersecurity tracking, interactive data analytics dashboards, and on-site tools to better track job performance.”
“In addition, ISN’s consulting arm, Monarch, assesses company safety culture with surveys of employees, contractors, and suppliers. Our recent acquisition of Transparency-One helped increase our service offerings from a responsible sourcing perspective.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Eastin cited:
“Over the years, the growth and milestones of ISN are accredited to its people, processes, and products, which its customers have been part of since the beginning.”
“Having grown from a company with fewer than ten employees, ISN now has a team of more than 700 employees around the world, supporting customers in more than 85 countries from 14 global offices. With unmatched dedication and commitment to providing quality products and service, ISN has received numerous customer service awards over the years, including the 2021 International Customer Service Standard 2020:2025 Gold Certification. Among other achievements, ISN also received its ISO 9001 Certification in 2014 and has retained annual recertification since. In 2020, Blackstone announced a significant minority investment in ISN to help fuel ISN’s continued growth through product innovation and expansion into new markets and geographies.”
“Monarch, the consulting arm of ISN, plays a crucial role in helping Hiring Organizations understand the perceptions of safety across their employees and contractors, and unlock leading indicator insights to proactively mitigate risks. This is particularly important as organizations are becoming more reliant on contractors with specialized skill sets in increasingly globalized economies and supply chains. By engaging an independent party like Monarch, organizations can better manage the challenges that come with the introduction of more contractors and subcontractors, including the impact on safety culture which can have a direct correlation to serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) occurring on job sites.”
“In 2022, ISN launched Empower, the app for workers to help minimize downtime from missing jobsite requirements. Empower enables workers to take online training courses on the go and at their own pace to complete assignments from their clients and employers, use a digital copy of their ISN ID card, and check their work-readiness status before arriving onsite.”
Below is a timeline of ISN company milestones:
- 1st Hiring Client –2001
- 100 Hiring Clients – 2005
- Calgary Office Opens – 2006
- Sydney Office Opens – 2009
- 20,000 Contractors/Suppliers – 2009
- London and Los Angeles Offices Open – 2011
- 300 Employees – 2012
- New York Office Opens – 2012
- 50,000 Contractors/Suppliers – 2013
- ISN Awarded ISO 9001:2008 Certification – 2014
- ISN Achieves 10 Years on Inc. 500’s list of Fastest Growing Companies – 2015
- Toronto Office Opens – 2015
- Auckland Office Opens – 2016
- Perth Office Opens – 2017
- ISN Awarded ISO 9001:2015 Certification – 2017
- Mexico City Office Opens – 2018
- 600 Hiring Clients – 2019
- Montreal Office Opens – 2019
- Blackstone Investment in ISN – 2020
- Midland Office Opens – 2020
- ISN’s 20th Anniversary – 2021
- Dubai Office Opens – 2022
- Acquired responsible sourcing platform, Transparency-One – 2023
ISN by the Numbers
- 14 office locations
- 600+ Employees
- Nearly 800 Hiring Clients
- 78,000+ Contractors / Suppliers
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Eastin concluded:
“Our philosophy is to spend the vast majority of our time listening to our customers and focusing on how we can best support them. That has led us to many of the innovations and enhancements that we think differentiate ISN from others.”
“That said, we expect to continue to expand our global capabilities, build more services around the individual worker, develop more capabilities that improve our customer processes, reduce risk, and improve transparency between clients and suppliers. This will lead to even safer and more sustainable workplaces and supply chains.”
“We also have to look around the next corner and think about what might change the Landscape. We must continue to ask ourselves, “How can we mitigate all risk, from the workers to the board?” Overall, our goal is to continue to help mitigate risk and improve workplace safety and sustainability.”
