Most companies just haven't gotten on the bandwagon that is sure to save them money and also create efficiency. Yes, I'm talking about companies who have yet to take the strategic sourcing route or learn about strategc source methodologies and techniques which result in operational excellence.

Strategic sourcing is when an organization can achieve maximum leverage over sourcing products using a methodology to create efficiency and cost savings. In strategic sourcing, companies can minimize the total cost of ownership of a product by taking into factor pricing, usage, and managemet of the product category throughout its lifecycle.
 
So why do we like Strategic Sourcing so much? 

Well, strategic sourcing creates efficiency and effectiveness because it requires indepth analysis of need, budget, and benchmark data on pricing and available sources. It also allows the establishment of a core set of suppliers for each category. Most companies call these their "vendor-partners" or "preferred" suppliers for each of the categories that they seek to buy. Strategic Sourcing also requires a strict process and methodology for buying what is needed and establishing a corporate wide price for best value.

Strategic Sourcing also allows companies to work with their "preferred" suppliers to resolve issues when they crop up and by leveraging supplier expertise to solve them.

Last but not the least, by making sure that the preferred suppliers are "healthy" and remain "viable", businesses can ensure that they reduce the risk to their own organization from suppliers who may go belly up and leave it at risk.

So strategic sourcing may not be rocket science after all eh? Strategic Sourcing makes sense. It continues to surprise us strategic sourcing has been around for quite some time yet many businesses fail to implement it or implement it and manage it effectively.