Abstract
Sourcing has become a common practice in global business today. Lately, the expression “strategic sourcing” has been widely used by sourcing professionals. However, in order to implement a successful sourcing strategy, the right sourcing process has to be implemented. This process will focus on the case of a global manufacturing firm and will be evaluated in the following lines.
Preparation
This is the planning stage; it’s also the most critical stage of the whole process because at this stage, the organization needs to have a clear vision and roadmap, to ensure that the organizational objectives are parallel to the procurements goals. At this stage the emphasis is on the efficiency of the whole process. The business needs have to be identified, as well as the potential benefits of the venture. And this can be effectively done through collaboration between everyone involved, including the end users and the stakeholders. This will help to assess the industry and the market offerings and capabilities, as well as defining the procurement scope and most importantly, it will enable to articulate a realistic implementable sourcing strategy.
Development
This stage of the process involves a lot of solicitation. Armed with a solid plan including the desired final outcome and organizational goals, as well as the established business unit requirements processes, approvals and quality controls, there will be a great deal of public and industry consultation. At this stage also, drafts and other requirements documents will be issued, solicitations will be updated and finalized, all of this done in a spirit of cooperation amongst all the stakeholders.
Bidding
The bidding stage is the most sensitive part of the process. At this stage, still in collaboration with the major stakeholders, in a very meticulous manner, all clarifications and requests have to be answered in a timely and accurate way. The supply market research takes place...