Week 4 Forum 423

Response question 1

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strategic sourcing is a “collaborative and structured process of critically analyzing an organization’s procurement spend and using this information to make business decisions about acquiring and managing commodities and services more effectively and efficiently” (DHS, 2017).  Strategic sourcing is essentially leveraging the buying power of the specific agency which is conducting the procurement while ensuring that the U.S. tax payer funds are spent wisely.  This also includes reducing duplication efforts between agencies and reducing waste.

DHS strategic sourcing contracts are a part of the larger contracting portfolio for the organization.  DHS is utilizing strategic sourcing to “increase acquisition efficiency, enhance mission performance, and optimize commodity management” (DHS, 2017).  DHS implemented strategic sourcing as a result of an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum issued in 2005.  This concept is a proven business best practice that saves money, reduces redundancy, drives standardization, streamlines procurements, and improves business efficiency.  Since 2012 strategic sourcing contract vehicles have been mandatory at DHS, with limited exceptions.

Similar to the Better Buying Power (BPP) initiative, strategic sourcing objectives for the federal government remain relevant.  The overarching objective is to ensure that the U.S. government is getting the best product or service at the best value.  This does not necessarily mean that it will be the cheapest product or service, even though at times it seems that is the route the government always goes in my opinion.  Strategic sourcing is a continual process that will continue to evolve and allow acquisition personnel to meet the requirements of the government, while at the same time save money for the U.S. taxpayer.       

James   

References:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (2017). DHS Strategic Sourcing Program Office (SSPO). Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-strategic-sourcing

University of Michigan Administrative Services Transformation (2011). What is Strategic Sourcing? Retrieved from http://ast.umich.edu/pdfs/What-is-strategic-sourcing-102811.pdf

Response Question 2

What I got out of the video was somewhat contradictory. They are saying that the overall benefit to the government is that strategic sourcing is a means to protect the government. The way it protects the government is by consolidating the purchase power to get the best prices available in the marketplace. The video also talks about the six exceptions, one of these six is if a lower price is available elsewhere. This sort of confused me, why have this exception if the main purpose of strategic sourcing is to protect the government by using buying power?

I also picked out a few other points from the video that I think are good to know. They mention that spend analysis and recommendation by a stakeholder are the two main ways they decide when to use strategic sourcing. As it makes up only a percentage of total acquisitions, when to use this method of sourcing is a key. Also the integrated team that needs to be assembled includes SME’s, or subject matter experts. As this is the role I fill at work I keyed in on that, so far I have never been on an integrated team that was for strategic sourcing (Strategic Sourcing in DHS, 2013).  

I found a short slide show that helped to explain this in an easier way for me. It goes over a seven step process to This emphasizes that one of the keys to implementing strategic sourcing is to be sure that stakeholders are willing to support change. This might be the biggest area of resistance that would be encountered in the DoD. Looking over the process shown in this slideshow there is not much difference in the steps between a standard acquisition and strategic sourcing acquisition (Business, 2015).