// ROBOTICS AND SMART FACTORIES TERM
Sourcing
Sourcing is the process of finding and evaluating suppliers for goods and services. It involves identifying potential vendors, assessing their capabilities, and selecting the best fit for a company's needs.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Sourcing involves the strategic identification, evaluation, and selection of suppliers for raw materials, components, or services, often including global sourcing, ethical sourcing, and single/multi-sourcing strategies to optimize cost, quality, and risk.
BACKGROUND
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as 4IR, Industry 4.0 or the Intelligence Age, is a neologism describing rapid technological advancement in the 21st century. It follows the Third Industrial Revolution. The term was popularized in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum founder and former executive chairman, who asserts that these developments represent a significant shift in industrial capitalism.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Procurement
- vendor selection
- supply chain sourcing
- supplier identification
USAGE NOTE
Companies often engage in global sourcing to leverage lower production costs or specialized expertise.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Sourcing.
A leading provider of cloud-based procurement and supply chain solutions, offering strategic sourcing, supplier management, contract management, and spend analysis tools that are critical for modern manufacturing.
Offers a comprehensive Business Spend Management (BSM) platform that includes advanced sourcing capabilities, procurement, expense management, and supplier risk management, helping manufacturers optimize their spending and supply chains.
Provides consulting, technology, and managed services for procurement and supply chain, including AI-powered sourcing platforms that help manufacturing companies find, evaluate, and manage suppliers more efficiently.
Delivers a full suite of Source-to-Pay (S2P) solutions, including strategic sourcing, eProcurement, and supplier management, designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs for direct and indirect spend in manufacturing.
Specializes in concurrent supply chain planning, offering solutions that provide end-to-end visibility and agile decision-making across sourcing, production, and logistics, enabling manufacturers to react quickly to changes.
Offers a cloud-based, networked platform for global supply chain management, integrating sourcing, demand planning, logistics, and manufacturing operations to provide real-time collaboration and visibility across the ecosystem.
Develops blockchain-powered traceability solutions for supply chains, enabling manufacturers to track materials from source to final product, which is crucial for ethical and sustainable sourcing in Industry 5.0.
Leverages blockchain, AI, and IoT to create a digital transparency platform for supply chains, helping manufacturers and consumers verify the authenticity, origin, and sustainable journey of valuable assets and materials.