You need to find the best supplier sourcing tools for your business. What’s the first step?

When looking for suppliers, it's super important to clearly say what you need. This helps find the best match and makes sure everyone knows the cost, quality expectations, clarity and effective contract negotiation which serves as a benchmark for performance measurement. Clear needs lead to successful procurement by aligning suppliers with your specific requirements.

I'll try to add on one more thing. You should always find a supplier that can match your finance payment term. If its not matched then the costing model of your supplier will be troubled. This one is important and for me shall be applied in the earliest engagement with supplier.

A good way to identify and pinpoint your needs is by documenting the flows and routes engaged during your previous sourcing operations, by doing so, you can have a solid knowledge base that will allow you to detect patterns and isolate recurring problems. Now you can search sourcing tools that have solutions for those problems.

You have to define your expectations as a business, so that finding the suppliers to provide you the perfect services or provide the goods won't be much of a problem. You can find suppliers online or referrals to provide you with your expectations as a business.

Identifying the need should always be the first step, as you can't set goals without understanding the underlying requirements and limitations of your business model, product market and source of supply. By identifying and understanding the need you can flesh out shortcomings, processes and begin to construct your unique KPIs that will aid in driving the supply chain forward.

The need for sourcing arises for so many reasons but when a company is looking for cost cut down or to enhance innovation it is very important to define the goals, so this helps the vendor to be able to negotiate about the project. Some companies use specific business strategies which is much more easier for the suppliers to understand the project goals to meet the EOD's.

Once you've defined your needs and goals, kickstart your web search. LinkedIn groups serve as a valuable knowledge hub, enabling benchmarking with individuals worldwide who willingly offer information, advice, and address queries. After gathering insights, create a table to compare each tool's offerings, weighing the pros and cons. Take the next step by reaching out directly for more specific information.

From my own experience, I usually do research in industrial unions, and also in official associations of national buyers to share experiences, such as AERCE.