Strategic sourcing

Our Strategic Sourcing service provides a rigorous and disciplined process for category and commodity organization which drives cost savings and improves supplier service.

Cost reduction programs need an organization-wide, strategic sourcing focus to be successful and to deliver long-term value. Restrictions to this process can arise from a variety of factors, such as procurement being fragmented across businesses, operations, and locations; immature procurement functions in terms of the development of its staff and processes; and M&A activity that has not been properly integrated in terms of procurement. This often results in a lack of a unified approach.

Additionally, procurement is often seen as a purely transactional function, with little engagement with the business and its main stakeholders. This leads to limited opportunities for collaboration and integration.
 

Our strategic sourcing support

Our Strategic Sourcing service addresses these issues – either on its own or as an integral part of our Procurement Excellence Partnership and Procurement Transformation program. 

We deploy a structured methodology supported by our digital platform, eFlow, establishing category cost baselines, identifying the total cost breakdown, and analyzing the relevant supplier markets. From this, we recommend appropriate strategies for the category. 

Our team draws on its extensive category experience to shape RFP (Request for Proposals) documentation, tender contracts, and the approaches and commercial models they embody. We look at the appropriate methodologies for assessing quotations and tenders, the negotiation strategies employed, and the tools and materials required to support these. 

We will draw up implementation plans for new strategies to ensure your success. Our broad category and sector knowledge provides the foundation for all sourcing strategies. These use appropriate advanced techniques and levers suitable for direct and indirect spend, including: 

• Design-to-cost 
• Specification optimization 
• Demand management 
• Low-cost country sourcing 
• Outsourcing
   

Delivering measurable savings

This structured approach delivers measurable savings traceable through to the bottom line. Because we emphasize the total cost of ownership over mere supplier price, these savings are real, sustainable, and complementary to achieving the desired quality and service level. 

Our Strategic Sourcing projects improve procurement integration with other business teams and stakeholders. Our service transforms procurement from an administrative cost center to being a creative and value-adding partner to the whole organization. 

We empower cross-functional teams to ensure knowledge transfer and upskilling while involving other stakeholders deeply and constructively at all stages in the process. Our ability to perform deep, detailed analytics of company-wide spend ensures data, facts, and knowledge drive our sourcing strategies and supplier negotiations.