CPO Rising has been actively publishing thought leadership, technology analysis, and supply management best practices for many years and the result has been a steady stream of valuable content that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. To help our readers keep better track of our ideas on certain topics, we’ve developed a new series in which we will feature a sampling of impactful insights and recent articles on the topics that matter most to CPOs and other procurement executives (Note that readers can also search different categories by clicking on “Articles” found in the blue menu bar directly under the CPO Rising logo or by searching “Tags” under the sponsor logos on the right hand navigation bar). We’ll start with Strategic Sourcing topics as we are now hard at work on our annual report on this topic….

5 Sourcing/eSourcing Articles You Should Read

1.Three Sourcing Tools to Aid Supplier Discovery

From our article entitled, Three Sourcing Tools to Aid Supplier Discovery: Supplier discovery is the part of the sourcing process wherein sourcing teams research the supply market and identify a list of qualified suppliers that can provide goods or services to the enterprise. Although it can be an under-appreciated step in the sourcing process, experienced procurement and supply management professionals understand its importance: having the best suppliers come to bid can correlate with improved financial and operational results. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

2. Sourcing: Why Enterprises Should Stop Worrying and Love the Procurement Team

From our article entitled, Sourcing: Why Enterprises Should Stop Worrying and Love the Procurement Team: The goals of a business haven’t changed too much in the 150 years since the procurement function first arose at the dawn of the second industrial revolution – enterprises need to purchase goods and services for less money and sell for higher prices—this impetus has not shifted much since business first began. What has changed, however, is the environment in which most sourcing teams must operate. 2015 finds us in a world with increasing economic volatility and regulatory changes that put pressure on the profit margins of businesses around the world. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

3. Sourcing: The Second Strategic Sourcing Pillar

From our article entitled, Sourcing: The Second Strategic Sourcing Pillar: For years, Ardent Partners defined strategic sourcing as “the process of identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and implementing the optimal mix of goods and services that best support the objectives of the enterprise.” But over the last few years, I’ve felt that this definition needed to evolve to incorporate the fast-changing business landscape and the steady progression of business process technology. As such, our new, core definition has been expanded to include both agility and business process automation. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

4. The State of Strategic Sourcing – Connecting the Dots

From our article entitled, The State of Strategic Sourcing – Connecting the Dots: The speed and complexity of business continues to accelerate, forcing procurement departments around the globe to adapt to new market conditions and react to new opportunities while maintaining discipline and efficiency. Dependence upon supply chains continues to rise and sourcing has never been more critical to overall success. But, more than 30 years after strategic sourcing became a well-defined business process, and almost 20 years after the tools that could automate the process were invented, the key to sourcing success is no great mystery – teams just need to “connect the dots.” Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

5. Skills for the Modern Procurement Pro – The Sourcing Process

From our article entitled, Skills for the Modern Procurement Pro – The Sourcing Process: Leading departments define their sourcing process as one that begins with opportunity identification and carries through contract execution and seeks to standardize their sourcing policies and processes at the enterprise level. Ardent’s traditional definition of “strategic sourcing” is “the process of identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and implementing the optimal mix of goods and services that best support the objectives of the enterprise.” It is important to add two comments…. Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Chief Procurement Officer, CPO, eSourcing, Sourcing, Technology