STRATEGIC SOURCING
In the midst of what’ s happening, risk and resilience is front of mind for a lot of people, especiallywith the crisis in the Middle East; those shifts may come at a higher cost. What are some of the trade-offs?
Bhavik Pathak, Alstom: Strategic sourcing these days focuses on unit cost, but the value is shifting. The focus is more on low risk, how we can minimise risk, how we can predict performance output and, in case of a crisis, how we can recover fast.
So it’ s not just about unit cost; it’ s about how we can anticipate risk at an enterprise level and come up with an action plan.
Ashley Hetrick, BDO USA: I think, in a lot of ways, it brings us back to the core of supplier and sourcing segmentation. I’ ve got my set of the portfolio that’ s always going to be a price gate, and I just need that to take as little time and attention as possible. Then there are the bigger pieces that I’ m dealing with that could significantly disrupt business operations or could create tremendous upside, speed to market and new innovations.
Those are the ones where I think we do have to step back from price and say,‘ what does value look like to me, and how do I get it?’
I think that’ s the interesting human side of sourcing: it’ s about people in a room solving problems together and saying, how do we work together, not how do I just buy something.
procurementmag. com 87