A Simple Sourcing Process For Small & Medium Businesses (SMEs)
A Simple Sourcing Process For Small & Medium Businesses (SMEs)
Getting Sourcing right for goods and services goes beyond just direct cost savings and quality to deliver additional cost and time savings, as well as other less tangible but equally important benefits, such as ESG and innovation.
Sourcing is not as complicated as it may seem as it’s something everyone does during their daily lives in order to save time and money while getting what they want, e.g. buying a car.
It’s never too early to have a simple and objective Sourcing process, regardless of the size of the company. As companies grow and more people are involved, this becomes even more important.
A Simple Sourcing Process
The Sourcing process steps below are clearly defined and when followed correctly, provide consistency, transparency, and visibility leading to the best results. Furthermore, keeping track of sourcing activities reduces the risk of fraud.
Sourcing involves the following simple steps:
- What is required exactly? – Describe what is required and in what quantity
- What represents best value? – Explain what is important and how to compare suppliers
- Which suppliers to go to? – Select at least three suppliers to get quotes from
- Evaluate suppliers – Determine which supplier will provide the best value
- Negotiate & Contract Award– Come to an agreement on contract and commercial terms
- Implementation – Work with an experienced supplier
Getting internal stakeholders, such as users and budget holders, involved in the process is crucial, as they will ultimately determine the success.
Key Points To Consider When Running A Sourcing Activity
Companies that go through the sourcing process may opt to stay with their incumbent supplier since they have performed very well in the past and are competitive. This may not be too popular with suppliers, but they recognize they also benefit from it when it comes to existing customers.
To ensure continued best value, it’s a good idea to run sourcing activities towards the end of every contract or every couple of years.
A company that has visibility and control over its Sourcing process is more likely to be successful in saving time and money and working with the right suppliers whose values align with their own.
The Sourcing process can be delivered either in-house or by working with experts who have in-depth knowledge of the particular supply required.
For many companies, the Sourcing of goods and services represents the entire procurement process, since it’s about getting the best value, working with the right suppliers, and ultimately protecting the bottom line. Although this is a good place to start, you can also gain significant benefits by effectively managing both contracts and suppliers afterwards.
eSourcing for SMEs
Creating a Sourcing function is easier for larger companies, especially as they have more resources and access to digital procurement solutions with eSourcing. SMEs, with fewer resources, can now take advantage of a digital procurement solution specifically designed for SMEs. oboloo is an intuitive and simple self-service cloud procurement software solution that has Sourcing, Contract, Supplier and Savings management modules to enable SMEs to be supplier smart. To learn more please visit www.oboloo.com
Additional Resources
These external articles contain useful points to consider:
