Strategic sourcing is an institutional procurement process that continuously improves and re-evaluates the purchasing activities of a company. It is one component of supply chain management.

The steps in a strategic sourcing process are:

1. Assessment of a company's current spend (what is bought where?)
2. Assessment of the supply market (who offers what)?
3. Development of a sourcing strategy (where to buy what, while minimizing risk and costs)
4. Identification of suitable suppliers
5. Negotiation with suppliers (products, prices)
6. Implementation of new supply structure
7. Track results and restart assessment (continuous cycle)

Strategic sourcing was initiated by General Motors in the 1980s.

Outsourcing is a method that can be employed as part of the overall sourcing strategy for services. This involves the transfer of staff and assets to an external or third-party company which then provides them back as a service.

Sourcing Optimization

When applied to sourcing and supply chain operations, optimization helps the sourcing professional simultaneously evaluate thousands of different procurement inputs. This evaluation can take into consideration the global market, specific current supply chain conditions, and individual supplier conditions, and offers alternatives to address the buyer's supplier's sourcing goals.

References

See also

• Reverse auction
• Request for proposal
• Procurement
• Rate contract
• Global sourcing
• Tenders