Sourcing software helps firms create, organize, and manage sourcing events that will allow them to get the best deals on direct materials, indirect materials, and services. Generally, eSourcing software vendors fall into one of three market segments — source-to-contract suite vendors, eSourcing specialists, and industry/geographic sourcing platforms — and should be evaluated by their size, functionality, and geographic presence. Andrew Bartels’ latest landscape report, “Now Tech: eSourcing Software, Q4 2019,” identifies 28 eSourcing software providers whose products can help firms create and manage requests for information (RFIs), requests for quotes (RFQs), and requests for prices (RFPs) and run reverse auctions in order to choose the best suppliers and the optimal price.

eSourcing software helps firms lower the costs of goods and services purchased from suppliers, improve the quality and performance of suppliers, and involve business stakeholders with category expertise in sourcing activities. Our analysis of eSourcing vendors’ market presence and functionality can help firms decide which eSourcing software vendor will maximize these conditions within their industry. We categorized our 28 vendors by revenue and explored functionality within each market segment to draw several conclusions:

  • We recommend that firms predominantly sourcing indirect materials seek out source-to-contract suite vendors.
  • Firms just getting started with strategic sourcing should begin with industry or geographic eSourcing platforms.
  • eSourcing specialists may be the best choice for discrete goods manufacturers with complex requirements for the sourcing of direct materials.

For more information and findings, see the full report.

(Audrey Hecht helped draft this blog.)