The Procurement Process | An Introduction to Strategic Sourcing | Back to Basics
Use Strategic Sourcing as your 'Supply Chain Advantage'. An overview of the procurement process for supply chain business operations.
December 12, 2023 | Updated March 22, 2026
S&Co., Supply Chain Logistics Consulting
Use Strategic Sourcing as your ‘Supply Chain Advantage’. An overview of the procurement process for supply chain business operations.
Most organizations treat procurement as a cost centre — a back-office function that fills orders and manages invoices. The ones that treat it as a strategic capability build a measurable competitive advantage over time.
The Procurement Process | An Introduction to Strategic Sourcing
A brief overview of the procurement process.
Procurement has evolved. What was once a transactional function — raising purchase orders, processing invoices, chasing deliveries — is now understood as one of the highest-leverage strategic activities available to business leaders. The research reflects this shift: procurement, when approached with strategic intent, becomes a driver of efficiency, profitability, risk reduction, and supplier-led innovation (Rafati & Poels, 2017).
This article is not about the mechanics of procurement — the nine-stage process, the sourcing methods, the RFPs and RFQs. Those are covered in the companion pieces in this series. This article is about the why: why procurement deserves executive attention, what six strategic functions it performs across a business, and what the difference looks like between organizations that buy tactically and those that source strategically.
“Procurement has evolved from being a simple buying function to a strategic element in supply chain management.”
— Rafati & Poels, 2017 · Value-Driven Strategic Sourcing
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