Strategic Sourcing in the Age of E-Business
Abstract: Strategic sourcing (i.e. relationship, sourcing and negotiation strategies) has, by the introduction of the Internet and e-business, get hold of a variety of possibilities supporting the classical sourcing guiding principle, such as electronic marketplaces, reversed e-auctions, online communication tools, software agents and the like. E-business regenerates in addition the negotiation character. By combining the operational and strategic views and care for a cautiously implementation, due to the exclusive demands in the specific company, purchasing and sourcing may improve fundamentally, as might happen in competitive companies as well. Such steps increase the possibilities to get reductions in total costs when managing existing operational processes, and not just achieve some short-term price benefits. Further, this includes the strategic aspects of getting a balance between the need of developing suppliers in emerging markets, local and distant sourcing, and adversarial and relationdriven solutions, thanks to strategic moves interlinked to a professional e-business strategy. Nevertheless, the purchasing and supply fundamentals are ongoing, which purchasing management firmly has to address.
This dissertation MIGHT be available in PDF-format. Check this page to see if it is available for download.