Accelerate Your Sourcing Cycle

Add comment February 14th, 2008 David Bush - Iasta

The Supply Chain Management Review recently ran an article on how to accelerate sourcing cycle times that had some good suggestions on how to keep your sourcing cycle lean and mean.

According to the article, obstacles that prevent the rapid execution of a quality sourcing process typically fall within one of the following four categories:

• insufficient and/or inaccurate data
  good sourcing needs good data; be sure to clearly define and articulate what data you will need before the project begins
• poor process definition and knowledge
  you should have standard methodologies and processes, and standard templates for each major category to insure that the team doesn’t have to “re-invent the wheel” every project
• insufficient resources
  strategic sourcing requires dedicated resources; although one can automate tactical purchasing, the very nature of strategic sourcing is that it requires qualified, intelligent individuals concentrating on the problem
• lack of corporate culture for sourcing
  sourcing affects multiple business units; they must be aligned to ensure success

The article then goes on to focus on two areas that can make a difference: spend data and talent.

Good strategic sourcing starts with a detailed spend analysis project that identifies the opportunities and illuminates the data you will need to conduct a successful sourcing project.

But in the end, it comes down to the talent assigned to the project. As the author points out, successful sourcing requires creativity and perseverance, drawing heavily upon:

• teamwork and collaboration
• leadership and communication
• analytics and problem solving
• broad expertise that encompasses project management, legal issues, and technical skills

Virtual teaming with collaborative processes and access to improving analytics and toolsets is creating the means for speed, the framework for results and the platform for sustaining category leadership despite the constant flow of talent … as long as the right e-Sourcing platform is in place to support it!

Entry Filed under: General, Spend Analysis, Supply Management Best Practices