Products within the Strategic Sourcing category support the work performed by procurement teams when planning for assessment and performance management initiatives. The functional capabilities typically included by Strategic Sourcing applications include project management, category management, savings tracking, data collection, team collaboration, and a supplier marketplace. Strategic sourcing is distinct from tactical and process focused applications that typically support operational requisitioning, ordering, invoicing, and payment processes.
Strategic sourcing is often deployed as a shared service, even for very large organizations, and are used for managing all types of spend — including services and direct, raw, and indirect materials. These shared-service centers often report into the procurement or supply chain organizations.
To qualify for inclusion in the Strategic Sourcing category, a product must:
Include the capability to collect and store a repository of structured data
Provide side by side comparison of included sourced products
Provide the ability to easily create, edit, share, and collaborate on data internally