A Primer on Global Sourcing Life Cycle (GSLC)

Successful global sourcing requires a thorough understanding of the myriad of issues and challenges that both client and vendor companies have to navigate through. For a parsimonious comprehension of these issues, dividing hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of tasks that have to be executed from the conception of global sourcing as a corporate strategy to sustaining a successful ongoing relationship into few stages goes a long way. Towards this goal, both researchers and practitioners have divided global sourcing into 5–10 stages depending on the level of detail desired. This chapter breaks down global sourcing into seven stages: (i) decision to source; (ii) identifications of functions and prospective vendors; (iii) analysis of vendor proposals and vendor selection; (iv) contract negotiation and finalization; (v) implementation (vi) ongoing management; and (vii) completion and review for future.