A Step-by-Step Guide to Agile Sourcing

How we can reduce tender timescales by 80%

Photo by İrfan Simsar on Unsplash

Agile sourcing combines the best elements of traditional procurement processes with the principles of agility and collaboration.

In a rapidly changing and complex business landscape, a traditional Request for Proposal (RFP) method is often too slow to get to the answer.

Agile sourcing offers a more efficient and effective way to choose suppliers, focusing on continuous learning, competition, relationship building, and gathering valuable information.

By embracing agile methodologies, procurement can adapt to evolving needs, drive faster decision-making, and achieve better outcomes.

An Agile Sourcing program can typically be completed within 4-8 weeks, depending on complexity.

I’ve broken a typical process down into its steps:

Sprint 1: Set-up

• Form the team and establish the timescales, which may take a few days to a few weeks.

• Conduct research to select participants, determine the budget, and set up collaboration tools.

• Workshop the planning of sprints (1 or 2 week focussed activity periods) and allocate the necessary time from the team.

• In the workshop, jointly create a briefing document that outlines the objectives, situation, scope, and process of the exercise at a high-level.

• Share the briefing document after the internal workshops.

• Arrange briefing sessions with participants, involving senior stakeholders and individuals with day-to-day understanding of the requirements.