Sourcing optimization has been around for over two decades, so it’s been puzzling that its use across procurement and supply chain has remained limited -- especially when there is so much proven ROI, usually after running just one sourcing event. It’s time for sourcing optimization to “go mainstream,” but that’s going to take an honest look at justifying and building the business case and having the right solution in place to ensure adoption and scale.
With a new 27-page practical guide, Keelvar has just made it a lot easier for procurement teams to speed up a sourcing optimization evaluation and bolster their advocacy for implementation. Our new Buyer’s Book “Making the Case for Sourcing Optimization” covers:
- How to better understand sourcing optimization and its potential value
- Assessing the opportunity to address current sourcing deficits across spend categories
- Real-world ROI examples
- How to leverage sourcing optimization to support corporate goals like sustainability
- What to include in solution evaluation criteria and a differentiation checklist
When sourcing optimization first came onto the procurement landscape in the early 2000s, it was seen as a natural advancement from eRFP and e-auction tools that had helped to introduce more competition between suppliers by giving everyone greater visibility into the standing of submitted bids, targets, and deadlines. But as widely popular as these tools were (and still are), they mainly focus on price-based decision making, meaning crucial considerations for some categories such as transit speed, supplier ratings, sustainability and CSR were being sidelined in the final award choice.
With the advent of sourcing optimization solutions, buyers and their stakeholders were able to more easily collect a range of price and non-price bid information from suppliers, and then analyze various awarding scenarios based on those criteria and other constraints. In the two decades since, sourcing optimization software has proven its value not only in terms of financial savings for businesses that have adopted it, but in important areas such as risk reduction, innovation discovery, sustainability improvements, and increased transparency.
For sourcing teams who are currently looking into a re-evaluation of their e-sourcing tools to either (a) upgrade to sourcing optimization or (b) expand sourcing optimization to even more spend categories and event types, the opportunity for making an internal business case has never been more timely.
With tighter budgets coupled with increased workloads, sourcing teams still need to research, evaluate and make a strong case for improving strategic sourcing processes and outcomes. That’s where this Buyer’s Book comes in. The team at Keelvar draws from many years of experience in sourcing optimization, and we are happy to help you with your research into these solutions, provide a close look at our products, and even demonstrate with your own data as you build your business case.
At Keelvar we believe sourcing optimization shouldn’t be complicated to use, but it should evolve to address modern-day challenges that may not have been present when the earliest tools first entered the scene.
Download a complimentary copy of our Buyer's Book, The Guide to Making the Case for Sourcing Optimization, and determine where sourcing optimization -- and new features for sourcing automation -- can help you uncover untapped areas of cost savings, efficiencies, risk mitigation, and quality improvements for your business.