Sourcing

Module Overview

The Supplios Sourcing Module covers the source-to-contract process, with a strong focus on direct material procurement.

It brings together Intake, Sourcing Events, and Awards so sourcing teams can manage the work from request to RFQ/RFP/RFI to award decision in one connected process.

The module is designed for the practical realities of manufacturing sourcing:

• Requests may come from Sales, Cost Estimation, Engineering, ERP, PLM, CAD, project planning systems, or other teams.
• RFQs often involve custom drawing parts, complex assemblies, purchased components, raw materials, tooling, equipment, services, freight, or ad-hoc surveys.
• Award decisions often need cross-functional approvals and downstream handoffs into ERP, PLM, order management, PPAP, APQP, audits, or other workflows.

Supplios Sourcing is built to make this process more structured, easier for suppliers to respond to, and easier for internal teams to review, compare, approve, and act on.

Target Users and Use Cases

Sourcing is for direct material procurement teams that need a supplier-friendly way to manage source-to-contract work.

Primary users include:

• Direct material purchasing teams.
• Category / commodity managers and GSMs.
• Cost estimation, engineering, or sales stakeholders who initiate sourcing requests.

Common use cases include intake requests, RFQ/RFP/RFI and survey events, cost breakdowns, supplier response comparison, award approvals, award letters, LOIs, and downstream handoffs.

Features and Capabilities

The Sourcing Module is organized around three major workflow areas.

Intake / Sourcing Requests

Intake helps teams handle the work that happens before a sourcing event.

Capabilities can include:

• Requests from Sales, Cost Estimation, Engineering, or other internal teams.
• Pulling data manually or from PLM / ERP, including CAD and BOM data.
• Automatic creation of RFQ/RFP from intake data.
• Sharing sourcing feedback or RFQ results with internal stakeholders.
• Pushing data back into other systems when configured.
• Standard or Custom Intake versions, depending on the process.

Sourcing Events

Sourcing Events are the main workflow of the module.

Capabilities include:

• Create, send, compare, and analyze responses to RFQ/RFP/RFI/Surveys.
• Integrated supplier messaging and internal team collaboration.
• Flexible sourcing event structure for custom drawing parts, complex assemblies, catalog parts, raw materials, tooling, equipment, services, freight, ad-hoc surveys, and RFIs.
• Powerful and customizable custom cost breakdowns.
• Easy-to-use interface for buyers and suppliers.

Awards / Nomination

Awards handle the process after supplier selection.

Capabilities can include:

• Decision to approval to next-step workflows in a single place.
• Cross-functional approval routing.
• Award letter and LOI generation.
• Supplier confirmation.
• Updates to ERP, PLM, or other systems.
• Automatic kickoff of related processes such as PPAP/APQP, supplier audits, order management, or other project steps.

Benefits and ROI

Sourcing ROI usually comes from faster sourcing cycles, less manual data entry, better internal coordination, and cleaner handoffs after award.

Typical benefits include:

• Less manual data entry for RFQs.
• Faster cost estimation and sourcing feedback cycles.
• Faster time to respond to customer RFQs.
• Better internal stakeholder management.
• Easier supplier response collection and comparison.
• Better records of sourcing decisions, approvals, supplier responses, and award data.
• Faster project execution after award because next steps can be triggered automatically.
• Better coordination across Purchasing, Supplier Quality, Supplier Development, Engineering, Plant, Finance, and Management.

The goal is not just to send RFQs faster. It is to make the full source-to-contract process more connected, more visible, and easier to repeat at scale.

How Implementation Works

• Customer inputs: RFQ/RFP/RFI templates, quote sheets, cost breakdowns, award letters, LOIs, supplier instructions, sample events, supplier lists, and ERP/PLM/CAD requirements if in scope.
• Supplios setup: Configure sourcing events, supplier response fields, cost breakdowns, intake forms, award workflows, approval routing, and integrations.
• Typical timeline: The Sourcing Events part of the module works out-of-the-box with minimal configuration required; custom templates, intake, awards, document generation, or ERP/PLM integrations are typically 1-8+ weeks.

Pricing Structure

Sourcing pricing depends on the included workflows and the number of Full Users who send RFQ/RFPs, manage Award workflows, or are assigned Sourcing Requests as part of Intake. These users are called Sourcing Power Users.

The Sourcing Power User fee is in addition to the account-level Full User fee. Discounts on the Power User fee apply above 25 Power Users.

Implementation and customization fees depend on workflow scope:

Setup and configuration are included. Sourcing Events do not require customization, but customization can still be added when needed.