Strategic Sourcing

Strategic Sourcing and Procurement: Insights into Modern Best Practices

Carolyn Hedley

Mon, 11/13/2023 - 12:00

As business leaders look to evolve and innovate operations, strategic sourcing and procurement stand out as game-changers. No longer are these functions merely about getting goods at the lowest price. They've transformed into strategic drivers adding profound value to supply chains. Furthermore, the trend of outsourcing strategic sourcing has added another dimension to this domain. Let's take a closer look into the modern best practices in strategic sourcing and procurement.

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Best Practices for Strategic Sourcing and Procurement

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the realm of strategic sourcing and procurement isn't exempt from the need to modernize. Embracing current technology and strategies isn't just about staying competitive; it's a crucial step toward ensuring resilience, agility, and continued growth.

Integrating digital tools, from AI analytics to cloud platforms, facilitates a comprehensive, real-time view of supply chains, allowing businesses to make informed decisions swiftly. Moreover, as strategies evolve in tandem with global market dynamics, businesses that are attuned to these shifts are better positioned to capitalize on new opportunities and navigate challenges.

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the best practices for strategic sourcing.

1. Embrace Digital Transformation and Technology
Today, tools that elevate the realms of strategic sourcing and procurement have come to the forefront. Leading professionals are embracing AI for its predictive analytics capabilities, forecasting demand and gauging supplier performance with precision. Blockchain technology is being hailed for its unparalleled transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain. Additionally, cloud-based platforms have become indispensable, facilitating seamless data access and fostering real-time collaboration among stakeholders.

2. Focus on Supplier Relationship Management
Building resilient, transparent, and mutual relationships with suppliers has become paramount. Regular check-ins, open channels of communication, and collaborative business planning are keys to success. A nurtured supplier relationship often translates into better quality, innovation, and prompt deliveries.

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3. Outsourcing Strategic Sourcing
The trend of outsourcing strategic sourcing is gaining momentum in the business world. By taking this route, companies can tap into the niche expertise and market insights that specialized outsourcing firms offer. This approach also provides the flexibility to scale sourcing activities in tandem with business fluctuations, without the burden of constant overheads. Moreover, outsourcing introduces an element of risk mitigation, as it lessens the reliance on in-house resources and equips businesses to maneuver more adeptly through the intricacies of global markets.

4. Prioritize Sustainability
Modern consumers are increasingly discerning, placing a high value on sustainability and ethical practices. In response, strategic sourcing and procurement teams are making significant shifts. They are actively championing suppliers who demonstrate a genuine commitment to green initiatives and uphold ethical standards. Additionally, there's a growing emphasis on adhering to circular economy principles, with teams advocating for practices that minimize waste and champion reusability and recycling.

5. Adopt a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Approach
Moving beyond the initial purchase price, modern procurement professionals evaluate the complete cost spectrum. This includes factors like operational costs, post-purchase support, durability, and maintenance. By focusing on TCO, sourcing and procurement decisions ensure long-term value.

6. Continuous Skills Development
As strategic sourcing and procurement landscapes undergo continual change, professionals need to stay ahead. This necessitates regular training, workshops, and certifications to remain updated with emerging trends and practices.

7. Implement Robust Risk Management
In the intricately connected global marketplace, even minor disturbances in the supply chain can trigger substantial repercussions. Recognizing this, procurement teams are taking proactive measures. They're diversifying their supplier bases to mitigate the risks of over-reliance on any one supplier or region. Concurrently, they're keeping a vigilant eye on external factors — be it geopolitical events, economic fluctuations, or environmental changes — that could potentially jolt the supply chain. Above all, they're perpetually armed with contingency plans, ensuring they're always a step ahead with a reliable Plan B in place.

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Outsourcing Strategic Sourcing with Exela

At Exela, we’re redefining the paradigm of strategic sourcing in today’s digital age. Drawing from a rich legacy of over 30 years in driving marketing materials cost reduction, our Strategic Sourcing solutions offer an innovative perspective on the procurement and supply chain management of marketing materials. Through a potent blend of top-tier technology, seasoned professionals, methodical processes, and unmatched supply chain oversight, we deliver solutions tailored for precision and cost-efficiency.

Our proprietary cloud-based strategic sourcing tools provide a fulfillment solution that emphasizes both efficiency and cost-saving measures. Step into an enhanced e-commerce realm, equipped with instantaneous on-demand order processing, intuitive software integrations, and a transparent overview of processes. Every interaction within our platform is backed by rigorous security measures, ensuring your business’s safety and confidentiality.

Navigating the Future of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement

The realms of strategic sourcing and procurement have evolved from being back-end functions to essential strategic pillars driving business value. By integrating these modern best practices and harnessing the potential of outsourcing, especially through trusted partners like Exela, companies can position themselves for success, sustainability, and resilience in today's dynamic marketplace. If you're looking to transform your sourcing and procurement processes, consider leveraging Exela's Strategic Sourcing services. Reach out to us today and let's chart a path to innovation and efficiency together.

Strategic Sourcing

Exela Tackles Print to Mail Backlog and Workflow Issues for a US Federal Department Vendor

#Print #Mail

Challenge

A legacy vendor for a US Federal Department struggled to print and mail critical benefits letters, resulting in a rapidly growing backlog. Multiple steps in the print and mail processes caused further delays in delivery to recipients. Finally, the lack of business intelligence capabilities left the department without the means to fully assess the current status of mail and its impact.

The vendor engaged Exela for a solution that provided complete transparency into every stage of the process from preparation to mailing documents, tackling their legacy backlog, and streamlining the processing moving forward. With this solution in place, the vendor anticipated a reduction in their backlog, insight into their print and mail processes, and prompt delivery of mail.

Solution

Exela employed a consultative approach for a modular solution tailored to the department’s use-case which resulted in an agile, quick, and efficient implementation of the solution.

Adhering to the department’s security and compliance requirements, Exela implemented segregated operations in two geographically diverse facilities, both with disaster recovery capability.

Exela’s solution also tackled the legacy backlog while moving forward with streamlining the vendor’s print and mail processes. The solution accelerated the reduction of the existing backlog and ensured timely and accurate delivery of mail.

To streamline the process, Exela simplified the workflow from a multi-vendor solution to a single entity, cutting down unnecessary steps in the print and mail process while accurately delivering mail on time or ahead of schedule.

Finally, Exela enhanced transparency with its solution allowing the department to view the real-time status of each piece of mail.

Benefits

- Mobilized rapidly and efficiently, implementing solution in 73 days
- Produced over 1 million letters and eliminated incumbent backlogs in 45 days of production
- Provided automated real-time status for each letter
- Recipients receive critical benefit letters on-time or in advance
- Reduced legacy backlog, ingested as part of solution

Discover What Exela's Digital Solutions Can Do For You

Strategic Sourcing

Managed Print Services

Exela Helps Leading Benefits Administrator Optimize In-house Print and Mail Operations for Huge Savings

#Finance

Challenge

A leading Benefits Administrator was struggling to maintain its in-house print and mail operations—suffering from high overhead costs and low productivity. The company was incurring unnecessary costs to maintain three facilities in North America, with wasted square footage and an under-utilization of equipment. It was experiencing a high volume of inventory (over 5,000 individual items) because it lacked any integrated printing capabilities, as well as a digital inventory management system. Its infrastructure did not support automation—workers had to manually accommodate highly customized jobs for each client, which required additional print runs and picking and matching inventory for kit fulfillment. There was also no inherent Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity solution. This meant that materials had to be physically shipped from one location to the other, which resulted in a 2-day delay. Fragmented, manual-based workflows (kit fulfillment) led to low productivity across sites, and slower print and fulfillment turnaround. Finally, production operations were not being leveraged for additional lines of business.

Solution

To address these challenges, Exela absorbed all of the company’s inbound processing and outbound print and mail operations, which included: production, fulfillment, return mail management, postal optimization, supply chain inventory optimization, and customer communications management. For starters, all operations were migrated over to Exela’s Mega Center and production facilities. This relieved the company of excessive overhead costs for real estate, security, technology and infrastructure. The implementation was rolled out over the course of a year to accommodate the transfer of hundreds of individual jobs, while User Acceptance testing took place at one of the facilities before any job went live. To help streamline, standardize, and unify operations; Exela rebadged more than two hundred workers. Formerly manual processes, such as customized print and fulfillment activities, were automated. Exela was also able to leverage its wide-reaching supplier network to secure the most competitive rates and drive economies of scale.

Benefits

Reduced total spend by 20%; savings anticipated to increase year-over-year via value reengineering
Provided a scalable solution that meets sudden demand spikes and future growth
Optimized operations by creating fluid workflows; eliminating under-utilized real estate and resources; and integrating automation
Eliminated the need to make capital investments
Drove economies of scale by utilizing Exela’s supplier ecosystem of $1B in procurement spend
Mitigated risk through highly trained employees, detailed process documentation, and proven business continuity plans
Eliminated management of the hourly workforce
Introduced new color, onsert printing capabilities to reduce time, inventory volumes, and manual resources

Discover What Exela's Print and Mail Solution Can Do For You

Strategic Sourcing

Managed Print Services

Marketing Execution Services

Strategic Sourcing

Leverage our cloud-based marketing services portal for precise sourcing and fulfillment

Exela’s Strategic Sourcing solutions revolutionize the way your enterprise handles marketing materials supply chain management and procurement. By combining industry-leading technology, skilled people, proven processes, and detailed supply chain control, we provide a tailored approach for precision and affordability.

Our proprietary cloud-based strategic sourcing tools power a fulfillment solution designed for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Enjoy an enhanced e-commerce experience with on-demand order processing, seamless strategic sourcing software integration, and comprehensive process visibility - all underpinned by robust security measures.

Our Strategic Sourcing solutions enhance productivity, enabling your team to handle fulfillment requests effectively while maintaining high levels of accuracy and swift delivery times.

30+

Years Of Experience Providing Marketing Materials Cost Reduction

Enterprise Print

Take control of your business printing needs with our enterprise print management solutions. Exela’s strategic sourcing and procurement capabilities ensure that you get the print materials you need, exactly when and where you want them. Our platform provides real-time tracking of print production through fulfillment, simplifying order requests, accelerating order processing, and offering full visibility via our integrated dashboard.

Kitting & Fulfillment

Exela’s Strategic Sourcing solution extends beyond materials procurement to include kitting and fulfillment services. Our platform’s intuitive web portal makes ordering straightforward, with exceptional speed and accuracy. By integrating advanced technology with a user-friendly interface, we ensure a seamless experience that elevates the efficiency of your procurement operations.

Promotional Materials

Let Exela handle the sourcing and management of your promotional materials. Our strategic sourcing solutions ensure a streamlined process, from selection to delivery. With our platform, you can easily order high-quality promotional items, track your inventory in real time, and manage your budget effectively via our integrated dashboard.

Strategic Sourcing

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Strategic Sourcing Solutions Overview

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