We have always felt that the goal of any sourcing process MUST be to select the best supplier possible and develop a relationship that will drive mutual value creation – it’s not to find the cheapest supplier. Unfortunately, most sourcing processes and related technologies absolutely reverse the priorities.
As we are working “in the weeds”, every day, we often lose sight of how critical our function is. We, at The Mpower Group, do a lot of Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain Management training as one of our service offerings because WE KNOW the value of a strong Supply Chain. I guess it has just taken the rest of the world a little time to catch up . . . . . .
When not focused on my work with The Mpower Group, I spend some of my time learning and playing the bagpipes. When I share this with people, they usually have many questions about the pipes. But, I think the similarities between playing the bagpipes and working with businesses…
Let’s do a hypothetical test. You are in a room with 5 other colleagues from your company and you are all involved in implementing the latest S&OP software(or any new process or tool or initiative) and I asked your team to come up with the top 10 issues and challenges that you have faced. Now let’s assume that run a similar exercise with five other companies and with five other teams working on a similar initiative. What do you think will be the result? Will the lists be the same? Totally different?
It’s actually sitting right under our nose . . . . . . but we manage to snub our nose at this function time and time again. It’s Purchasing – not Strategic Sourcing, not Category Management, not Global Sourcing, not the forever –exalted Supply Chain (and it’s ever changing scope /definition) but simply Purchasing! And I say Purchasing with all the professional respect this group deserves BUT seldom receives.
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