Tips For Sourcing Goods and Services

The sourcing of goods and service is the one part of procurement process that every company does to ensure they get best value from suppliers and also work with the right  suppliers whose values align with their own. Companies either do sourcing activities without following a formal process or they have processes in place or use a digital solution. Below are some simple tips to help t help get the most out of doing sourcing:

• Get  internal stakeholders, such as users and budget holders, involved from the beginning as they will influence the outcome of the sourcing activity and the use of any successful supplier

• Provide prospective suppliers with as much historic spend data as possible regarding specifications and quantities etc. so they can be as competitive as possible in their responses

• Use a sourcing activity to review what's been purchased previously and how things have been done in the past as there may be opportunities to identify new efficiencies through reductions and identifying redundancies. 

• Talk to potential suppliers about what's new as there may now better solutions available

• Have a clear and objective list of scoring criteria and the relative importance of each to assess supplier responses against

• Take the time to read the supplier contract before signing and be clear about any buyer obligations and key dates.

• Plan any sourcing activity in advance and don't leave it until the last minute so that it can be done properly to get the maximum benefit

• Treat all suppliers as you'd want your own salespeople to be treated and remember that feedback is a gift, especially for suppliers who are unsuccessful in a sourcing activity.

• Repeat the sourcing process towards the end of every contract or every two years or so to ensure the continued receiving of best value

• To have consistency, transparency and control over the Sourcing of goods and services create and document a simple  sourcing process that everyone can follow and keep up to date records of all activities or alternatively use a specialist procurement software such as oboloo