International Purchasing and Global Sourcing--What are the Differences‪?‬

Today's business environment, perhaps more than at any other time in modern history, demands a continuous search for new sources of competitive advantage. Lasting success requires steady and sometimes dramatic cost reductions, quality and delivery improvements, reduced cycle times, and improved responsiveness to customer, competitive, and financial market demands. As organizations think about the best way to respond to these demands, the development of global strategies and approaches, including global sourcing strategies, will become an increasingly attractive option. Increased globalization is clearly on the minds of most executive leaders. A survey of CEOs by the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award revealed that nearly 95 percent of CEOs indicated that becoming more global was their top challenge as they looked across a three- to five-year planning horizon. Nearly 80 percent of CEOs mentioned reducing cost and improving global supply chains as a top priority and challenge. Given the importance that CEOs place on globalization, understanding how to define and operationalize this topic should be a major concern.