What is Market Intelligence?
For Procurement departments, market intelligence can mean many different things. Typically, Procurement counts on three different types of market intelligence.

First, there's market research. This data paints a picture of the supply landscape. There's also the much more strategic 'competitive intelligence.' Amassing this intelligence means looking out for potential disruptors and value levers to drive long-term sourcing strategy. Teams might look to develop competitive advantages by conducting or commissioning research into the supplier landscape, their competition, or the trends that promise to shake up their industry. Most strategic of all is what's sometimes called supply market intelligence. This body of knowledge is explicitly relevant to your organization's particular supply markets. This is what ultimately enables informed and confident decision making throughout the Procurement process. 

This information can come from just about anywhere. A Procurement professional might conduct a simple Google search, browse an industry publication, or follow a competitor on social media to bolster their own market intelligence. A more nuanced approach might entail leveraging a third-party market intelligence provider to help drive strategy. In 2014, Supply Chain Management Review reported that 65% of companies gather market intelligence from such resources. 

Why Does Procurement Need It?
The potential benefits of good market intelligence are as diverse as its sources. Dependable market intelligence enables Procurement to address the countless challenges that face it on a daily basis. For example, a Procurement team might be tasked with assessing its overall competence, identifying barriers in the supply market, evaluating their suppliers' offerings, conducting a price model analysis, and developing better strategies for negotiations all while maintaining an advantage over their competition. Each of these is more easily accomplished with a consistent stream of market intelligence. 

Gathering a basket of data will help Procurement understand how its competition and supply base are responding to emerging trends. With this external market awareness, Procurement can compare its processes to accepted best practices and survey the market for incoming risk factors. Leveraging their new external awareness, Procurement can refine its strategies to take advantage of competitive opportunities and support its broader objectives. 

How Can Source One Help?
Source One has offered Procurement and Strategic Sourcing services since 1992. In that time, they've built an unparalleled library of cross-industry and cross-category intelligence. Source One's database of historical prices, best practices, and market conditions will help any organization make more informed decisions and realize greater value. Our market research team has assisted Procurement teams in stabilizing volatile markets, entering new geographies, conducting make vs. buy analyses and more.

Even a well-staffed Procurement team might lack the resources to juggle its day-to-day tasks while building its store of market intelligence. Source One's cost reduction team provides those resources. Our expert team will leverage its years of intelligence while consistently gathering the real-time information your organization needs. Give us a call today
Share To:

Strategic Sourceror

Post A Comment:

0 comments so far,add yours