E-commerce marketplaces can revolutionise the supply chain industry

Jens Gamperl, CEO, Sourceability

The electronic-component purchasing process is largely the same as it was 10 years ago, but the disruptions the industry is facing are growing in complexity, frequency and impact. Supply chains nearly reached breaking point when COVID-19 hit, with the pandemic testing resiliency and exposing the antiquated model of sourcing electronic components.

Traditionally, purchasers run through the list of parts they’ve been tasked to acquire and work with the same partners that they always have via email, phone calls and maybe a unified communications service such as Slack, if they’re advanced. These piecemeal negotiations are tracked in spreadsheets, and purchasers record quotes and make buying decisions sometimes days after a quote is requested.

“Nearly 90 per cent of sourcing in the industry is done through spreadsheets,” said Jens Gamperl, CEO of Sourceability, a global technology company transforming the way businesses bring products to market through a digitalised supply chain.

Adapting the e-commerce model

However, the alternative model is gaining momentum at last and shows promise in advancing beyond business as usual. The marketplace approach unites suppliers and purchasers to match supply and demand at scale rather than relying on old relationships and slow processes to gather information. Combined with specific functionality to match the demands of electronic components purchasing, this shift opens an avenue towards more efficient technology producers and a more efficient market overall.

Marketplace models will lead the way for digitalising the supply chain industry. Embracing digitalisation such as AI, automation and machine learning can help businesses develop a 360-degree view of the existing supply chain and deal more proactively with potential disruptions. The demand is there: Gartner predicted that at least 50 per cent of large global companies will be using AI, advanced analytics and IoT in supply chain operations by 2023.

Sourcengine is the first and still the only e-commerce marketplace in the electronic components industry. On average, buyers can search over 1 billion parts and the marketplace boasts more than 3,000 suppliers that purchasers can access in one seamless online shopping experience.

“The demand for electronic components will double within the next 10 years, which means we have to find tools and ways to change our planning, our forecasting and the way we manage our supply chain. This can only be digital,” said Gamperl.

The forecast for the supply chain appears to be much the same as 2020 and 2021, with new disruptions guaranteed. The devastating shortages have opened the eyes of many to the weaknesses of existing procurement and supply chain processes, and there is a growing interest in digital solutions, such as Sourcengine. Accelerating the digitalisation of the industry and how the sourcing process works can reconfigure the supply chain to be more resilient and secure.

Digitalise your supply chain management with Sourcengine.