What is a Sourcing Plan?
A sourcing plan outlines a company's approach to sourcing materials, services, and other resources needed for operations. The plan helps to ensure that a company acquires the right resources at the right price, in the right quantity, and at the right time. It also helps to improve the stability and quality of the supply chain, while reducing costs and time.
What's included in this Sourcing Plan template?
- 3 focus areas
- 6 objectives
- 6 projects
- 6 KPIs
Each focus area has its own objectives, projects, and KPIs to ensure that the strategy is comprehensive and effective.
Who is the Sourcing Plan template for?
This Sourcing Plan template is designed for supply chain teams or managers in any industry who are looking to create a plan to manage and source materials. This template covers a comprehensive range of focus areas, objectives, projects, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that your business is obtaining the right resources to stay competitive.
1. Define clear examples of your focus areas
Focus areas are the main categories or topics that your strategy will cover. Your focus areas should be specific and relevant to your business goals. For example, a focus area could be 'Source Cost Reduction', 'Quality Assurance', or 'Supplier Relationships'. These are all topics that need to be addressed when creating a successful sourcing plan.
2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area
Once you identify the focus areas, you need to start thinking about what objectives could be achieved in each. Objectives are the immediate goals that you want to accomplish in each focus area. For example, under the 'Source Cost Reduction' focus area, objectives could include 'Reduce total cost of materials' and 'Increase efficiency of sourcing process.'
3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective
Once you have identified the objectives, you need to set measurable targets (known as Key Performance Indicators or KPIs) to help you reach your objectives. KPI targets need to be specific, relevant, and measurable. For example, under the 'Reduce total cost of materials' objective, a KPI could be to 'Decrease average cost of materials from $2.00 to $1.75'.
4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs
Once you have set the KPI targets, you need to start thinking about what projects or actions need to be implemented to achieve these targets. Projects should be specific and achievable. For example, under the 'Decrease average cost of materials' KPI, an action could be to 'Negotiate better pricing with vendors.'
5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy
Cascade is a strategy execution platform that provides the tools to build, manage, and track your sourcing plan. Cascade makes sure that your objectives and projects are aligned, and that you are tracking the right KPIs. With Cascade, you can see faster and better results from your strategy, so you can focus on what matters most: sourcing the best materials for your business.