Rapid sourcing gives manufacturers the tools and techniques to be more flexible without undermining the relationship that they have with their suppliers.
The Art of Rapid Sourcing
Rapid sourcing may vary from one category to another even if there is an overall goal such as the speed-to-savings mandate above. The good news is that an entirely new framework for sourcing is not required for your sourcing managers to employ rapid sourcing techniques. In fact, a traditional strategic sourcing methodology such as the one shown below is exactly where to begin with a rapid sourcing initiative.
These steps should look familiar to your strategic sourcing managers. Generally speaking, when going through a traditional strategic sourcing initiative, the effort in executing each step in the methodology above is fairly uniform and almost always on the rigorous side. The art of rapid sourcing is taking into account the speed-to-savings mandate and determining how to optimize the investment of time and research within each step of the methodology to achieve the desired results. This may mean that certain steps of the methodology will be eliminated or dramatically reduced in terms of effort where the ROI is low.
Remember that the immediate goal is speed-to-savings, not optimizing the category and maximizing savings. Once the organization has achieved the cost savings goals, the strategic sourcing managers can always optimize/maximize in the future when the urgency has subsided.
At the end of the day, the primary differentiator with rapid sourcing is the flexibility of the approach used to execute each step of the methodology during the sourcing initiative. Below are some examples to demonstrate how a rapid sourcing approach changes the way a sourcing manager executes, operates and delivers value and savings to the organization.
