Category Sourcing Strategy Template

What is a Category Sourcing Strategy?

Category Sourcing Strategies are plans to identify and manage suppliers and optimize sourcing for procurement teams. This involves defining focus areas for the team to prioritize, setting objectives to tackle, developing measurable targets (KPIs) to track progress, and implementing related projects to achieve the desired results. A well-crafted category sourcing strategy can help procurement teams save money and time, as well as ensure that the company is getting the best value from their suppliers.

What's included in this Category Sourcing Strategy 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 Category Sourcing Strategy template for?

The Category Sourcing Strategy Template is for procurement teams looking for a structured way to create and develop an effective category sourcing strategy. This template has been designed to help teams gain clarity on their focus areas and objectives, set achievable targets, and implement the right projects to set them up for success.

1. Define clear examples of your focus areas

Focus areas are the topics or themes that procurement teams focus on when creating their category sourcing strategy. Examples of focus areas could include Supplier Identification, Supplier Management, Sourcing Optimization, and Cost Reduction. Procurement teams should choose the focus areas that are the most relevant to their business needs and goals.

2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area

Objectives are the goals that procurement teams set to achieve within a specific focus area. For each focus area, teams should consider the objectives that need to be fulfilled to achieve their overall category sourcing strategy. Examples of objectives could include improving supplier diversity, sourcing and evaluating potential suppliers, reducing procurement costs, and increasing efficiency in procurement.

3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are measurable targets that procurement teams set to track their progress towards achieving the objectives of the category sourcing strategy. These targets should be set at an initial level, and then teams should aim to reach a desired target level by a certain time. Examples of KPIs could include increasing the number of suppliers, increasing supplier rating, decreasing supplier delay, and reducing procurement costs.

4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs

Projects are the actions that procurement teams take to achieve their KPIs. These projects should be tailored to the specific focus areas, objectives, and KPIs that are relevant to the category sourcing strategy. Examples of projects could include monitoring and updating supplier databases, sourcing and evaluating potential suppliers, reviewing and adjusting purchase agreements, and analyzing and comparing supplier prices.

5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy

The Cascade Strategy Execution Platform helps procurement teams develop, track, and manage their category sourcing strategies. With the platform, teams can easily define focus areas and objectives, set achievable targets, and implement projects to achieve their desired results. Teams can also leverage the platform’s reporting and analytics features to track progress and identify areas of improvement.