Quiz: Are Your Sourcing Methods as Effective as You Think?

If your procurement team is like the ones we usually encounter, then it’s a given that you would like to accomplish your work in the most efficient way possible. So, when traditional sourcing methods deliver the results you need, it’s natural that you stick with them.

However, staying competitive and keeping up with the rapid changes in the business world requires you to take a more forward-thinking approach. Technology means you now have the option do things faster and better. For example, eSourcing platforms help expand your reach as you search for new suppliers or product sources, and can do so at a more competitive cost. With a solutions landscape that has evolved considerably in recent years, there’s no better time than now to reevaluate whether your current sourcing methods are as effective as you think. (And if you are part of the aforementioned procurement teams that we encounter, you’re undoubtedly in the midst of this reevaluation process.)

To assess what you can do to improve your processes, take this brief quiz below. Read through the questions and give yourself a point for each YES answer.

1. My team and I use a lot of documents, emails, and spreadsheets to manage our sourcing and procurement methods efficiently.
2. The lack of visibility and transparency in traditional procurement methods means I have to spend more time managing and monitoring bids and proposals than doing productive work.
3. I tend to spend a lot of time coordinating between suppliers and internal stakeholders to ensure everyone is in the loop.
4. The prospect of sourcing new products or suppliers feels tedious and daunting, and usually costs a lot of money.
5. It takes us a lot of time to prepare a proposal to send out to prospective bidders.
6. It regularly takes our team weeks, or even months, to find the right supplier that meets our stakeholders’ requirements.
7. Our suppliers tend to feel that we’re pitting them against each other, which creates tension in the relationship.
8. Our relationships with our network of suppliers can be strained, especially when we are trying to get the best price for our requirements.
9. Our team finds it difficult to find new suppliers to participate in the sourcing process.
10. Objectively speaking, our team finds that our current processes can definitely be improved to be faster, more transparent, and cost efficient.

Now, add up the number of times you answered YES to the above questions.

If you totaled 3-5:

Reevaluate your current processes. Your methods may be effective at the moment, but there could be room for improvement. At the rate businesses are evolving, you might find it harder to keep up with the demands of clients and suppliers down the line. At this point, it would be very helpful to find new ways to keep your procurement team focused and motivated—whether through additional coaching, training or by introducing new tools to help them improve current practices.

If you added up 5 or more:

You clearly need to find a new approach to ensure that your company maintains efficiency and efficacy in spite of apparent sourcing challenges. You might consider leveraging sourcing tools that can offer transparency, streamline communication, improve sourcing practices, and manage supplier relationships all in a single eSourcing platform.

Take advantage of Vendorful’s eSourcing and vendor management platform and find out how you can use it to improve your sourcing methods. Contact us today.