Sourcing process has evolved from merely finding, evaluating and engaging suppliers to a more sophisticated one – deemed as advance deal sourcing strategy – wherein, the sourcing process is continuously evaluated and improvised. This concept was made famous by major consultancy companies in late the 1980’s and 1990’s and is now a standard sourcing practice for most of the leading best-in-class companies.

Traditionally sourcing or procurement was referred as a purchasing activity. It was in the early 1980’s that purchasing – which was being viewed as highly tactical – began its transformation to procurement.

From 1980’s till today the sourcing process/approach has undergone a paradigm shift. Before the advent of automation, sourcing activities were highly manual – paper based and was supported by tools like excel (something that is still prevalent in today’s era).

This white paper will focus on factors that demand change in advance deal sourcing strategies approaches can make the process more efficient. It also highlights the best practices that can be adopted at various stages of the sourcing process.