The advent of the web has fundamentally transformed the supply chain like no other category of business. Sourcing vendors realized that the only way to tap into the sourcing and spending patterns that are evolving globally is to leverage cloud-based technology.
Through these investments, sourcing vendors have become more connected and increasingly mobile. Consequently, these organizations have closely integrated with partners in an effort to eliminate product mismatch, provide up-to-date availability information, and generally avoid other problems arising from the lack of a common data/platform.
Today, the cloud is further transforming the nature of sourcing itself. This online platform enables the adaption of new crowdsourcing strategies in which prospective suppliers (not only those providing goods but also those providing intellectual labor and professional services) compete in a global marketplace on a bid-by-bid basis.
