Determining which regions to access for a particular purpose and managing risks inherent to global sourcing, however, remain significant challenges.
Sourcing is no longer about trying to get it cheaper, whatever “it” is. Companies continue to leverage savings in various functions and processes in low-cost regions in the world, where they can be conducted at lower cost, either by third parties or by their own efforts. And they are doing so aggressively.
Supply is driving the significant growth of sourcing in low-cost regions, and it seems safe to assume that it will for the foreseeable future. More suppliers in more locations are placing an increasingly complex set of choices before executives who are leading their companies into the offshore fray. Yet things are just as dynamic on the demand side, according to Chicago-based management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
