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Logistics & Supply Chain vocabulary · Procurement and Purchasing

Sourcing

Meaning in logistics & supply chain, with examples

/ˈsɔːrsɪŋ/nounCommon term

In logistics & supply chain, sourcing means: The work of finding, evaluating and selecting suppliers for the goods or services a company needs, including deciding where in the world to buy from.

In Turkish: tedarikçi bulma, kaynak bulma, sourcing

How it is used

Common in phrases like global sourcing, strategic sourcing, single sourcing and dual sourcing. The verb 'source' is used for parts and materials: 'we source our fabric from Bursa'. Sourcing usually comes before purchasing places the orders.

Example sentences

  1. Our sourcing team is looking for a second supplier closer to Europe.

  2. Single sourcing kept costs low until the supplier's factory closed for a month.

Common collocations

  • global sourcing
  • strategic sourcing
  • dual sourcing
  • sourcing strategy
  • source from
  • procurementThe process of finding, choosing and buying the goods and services a company needs, including negotiating with suppliers and managing contracts.
  • supplierA company or person that provides goods, materials or services to another business, usually at an agreed price and on agreed delivery terms.
  • RFQShort for request for quotation: a document a buyer sends to several suppliers asking them to quote prices and terms for clearly specified goods or services.
  • tenderA formal process in which a buyer invites suppliers or carriers to submit offers for a contract and then chooses among them on price and other criteria.
  • disruptionAn unexpected event that interrupts the normal flow of goods, such as a natural disaster, a strike, a port closure, a cyber attack or a supplier failure.

More terms: Procurement and Purchasing

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