Global Sourcing - The strategic reorientation of purchasing

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Business economics - Supply, Production, Logistics, grade: 1,3, Heidenheim University of Cooperative Education, course: International Management, language: English, abstract: ¿Es ist nicht genug zu wissen, man muß es auch anwenden;

Es ist nicht genug zu wollen, man muß es auch tun.¿

Goethe

Globalisation of markets progresses rapidly and leads to more competition. In times of Supply Chain Management, Cost Saving Measures and Outsourcing companies have to reorient their business planning. New concepts are necessary to reach a cost efficient production. In this context, globalisation must not only be considered as global selling of own products. With the same effort global logistics and procurement have to be taken into account to gain global success.

Global Sourcing is already known as conscious orientation of a purchasing strategy. However, its implementation hasn¿t gone far yet. Increasing economical interweaving and better technological possibilities make Global Sourcing, even for middle-class companies more relevant than never before. Global Sourcing is more than just buying goods and services in foreign countries. In bounds of company philosophy, efficient strategies have to be developed to ensure international competitiveness. Extending of purchasing options, access to world-wide know-how or even increasing sales of own products are just some features of this concept.

Before integrating the Global Sourcing Concept in other company strategies a closer look is necessary. The focus of this term paper remains in showing Global Sourcing as a part of the reorientation of purchasing, determining its features and risks as well as indicating the strategy of Global Sourcing. For not going beyond the scope of this work, I will refrain from exact determination of every single sourcing strategy (Sourcing Toolbox). Even it¿s not its task to set exact guidelines, concerning the integration into company¿s strategies. Additionally this term paper mostly refers to the industrial view and just in part to the retailing sector.