The strategic sourcing represents a significant paradigm shift compared to traditional export approaches, especially in a context where supply chains global have faced increasingly greater challenges complex. In recent years, geopolitical conflicts have altered global trade flows, while difficulties in the supply of raw materials, amplified by market volatility, and natural disasters have compromised operational continuity in many sectors. These critical issues have generated disruptions in operations, interruptions in international logistics networks, a significant increase in shipping costs and longer and more unpredictable delivery times.
In response to these problems, a radical change becomes indispensable. supply chains must evolve towards more resilient models, capable of rapidly adapting to crises, digitalized to enable real-time and sustainable decisions, capable of reducing environmental impact and waste without sacrificing operational efficiency. Within this scenario, the internationalization models play a key role in redefining sourcing strategies that can respond to global dynamics and facilitate access to more diversified markets.
In this context, strategic sourcing focuses on key objectives such as cost reduction linked to the supply of raw materials and components, the supplier diversification to mitigate risks and qualify business processes, and theoptimisation of distances and times of delivery to simplify logistical complexity.
To achieve these objectives, targeted actions are implemented, including thein-depth market analysis to identify new supply opportunities, the building strategic partnerships with key suppliers and theadoption of advanced tools to monitor and improve supplier performance. These elements allow for the creation of an integrated and proactive approach, capable of responding to global challenges with greater efficiency and competitiveness.
The strategic sourcing stands out for its aim to build strong and long-term relationships with suppliers, aiming to maximize benefits for the company and anticipate future needs. This approach is based on a global and strategic vision, which considers the supplier not only as a simple provider of goods or services, but as a key partner for business success.
In contrast, tactical sourcing focuses on quick responses to immediate needs, adopting a transactional approach. Often, this involves unplanned and exclusively lowest-cost purchases, without a thorough assessment of the supplier’s potential or long-term relationship. This approach risks overlooking crucial aspects such as:
Alternatively, strategic sourcing integrates these aspects into the management of the Purchasing Office, transforming the relationship with the supplier into a extremely targeted collaboration. This vision allows not only to improve the resilience and efficiency of the supply chain, but also to create added value for the entire organization.
To sum up, the strategic sourcing offers five main benefits which contribute to improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the company:
The strategic sourcing process is developed in different phases, each of which is aimed at maximizing the benefits for the company, reducing risks and optimizing costs. The main phases of this process are:
The first step is toanalyze the company's needs and establish a hierarchy among suppliers based on their strategic relevance. For example, an automotive manufacturer could prioritize local suppliers for semi-finished products intended for a new plant, evaluating their technical and logistical characteristics.
The supplier scouting is crucial and must be based on clear and defined criteria, such as production capacity, technical certifications or proximity to strategic infrastructures. The use of advanced digital tools, such as AI-based platforms, facilitates the process by providing targeted lists of potential suppliers.
Not all the suppliers identified fully meet the company's needs. It is essential to analyze parameters such as financial strength, the production capacity and the price competitiveness. Solutions such as certified financial data or specific supports for internationalization help to make more informed choices.
Negotiating with suppliers is not just about price, but also about creating long-term synergies. For example, it is possible to design collaborations for shared research and development projects, increasing efficiency and reducing costs in the long term. Furthermore, continuous monitoring of supplier performance is essential to ensure compliance with agreements, the adoption of sustainable practices and the timely correction of any critical issues in the supply chains.
Adopt it strategic sourcing It does not therefore represent only an operational choice, but anFundamental investment to ensure the competitiveness and sustainable growth of the company. Among the main difficulties that SMEs must face in the context of increasing globalization is in fact the ability to evaluate and understand their internationalization potential.
The Internationalization Radar offered by Octagona is a service designed to support the process of strategic sourcing, responding to the growing needs of Italian companies in terms of international expansion. This service involves the design of customizable models, adaptable to the specific characteristics and needs of each company, with the aim of evaluating the capabilities to undertake an internationalization path. The result is a complete framework that guides companies in selecting the most suitable markets on which to focus their activities.
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