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Best shoring aims at evaluating what region and what supplier are particularly suited for outsourcing within the value-creation process. Along with a business case analysis, this strategy also involves holistic assessment of risks.

A combination of steps to facilitate proactive avoidance, early recognition and adoption of timely countermeasures against bottlenecks. The aim is to ensure the supply of end products to the customer under all circumstances.

Buying consortia are loose cooperations of firms aimed at obtaining advantages on the sourcing market. In contrast to sourcing communities, they are of limited duration (i.e. until the end of the respective project).

Deficient communication between customer and supplier can lead to capacity bottlenecks and production losses, with sometimes serious consequences. Collaborative capacity management ensures ongoing reconciliation between demand and capacity with regard to a selected critical component volume.

Product complexity is rendered visible and tangible through structured variant trees. The number of variants is systematically reduced.

This primarily involves the increased use of master agreements and preferred suppliers, as well as compliance with companywide policies (e.g. travel policy).

Even the best contracts are of little use if nobody is familiar with them. Contract management has the aim of creating transparency with regard to existing contracts throughout the company, as well as
consolidating contracts, thus achieving better terms for all internal customers.

Global sourcing aims at selecting the most competitive suppliers worldwide. This may sound obvious, but it is still true today, that European companies mostly work with European suppliers and US companies mostly choose US suppliers, whereby this list could be continued almost indefinitely.

R&D is fostered through cooperation in a cross-company innovation network. This also allows the company to gain new insights into innovative technologies. By looking beyond its own backyard, the company frees itself from long-standing supply dependencies.

Linear performance pricing is a method for identifying the main technical cost driver for the product price of a group of materials.

Responsibility for purchasing is delegated to an outsourcing partner with significantly greater demand power or smarter sourcing networks.

Instead of the traditional method of paying suppliers a product-based purchasing price, one can agree to share the profit. This especially makes sense when the supplier has an overwhelming influence on the
success of the business.

For companies and suppliers wanting to cooperate for a limited period and within a limited scope, a project based partnership is a suitable cooperation model.

The supplier fitness program helps suppliers through targeted measures to eliminate weaknesses within their own value creation processes, thus making them more competitive.

Supplier market intelligence comprises the systematic gathering, evaluation and utilization of information on all incumbent and potential new suppliers.

Value based sourcing is an approach whereby suppliers are selected in terms of their capabilities and are continually encouraged to innovate, the goal being value maximization.

Existing value chains are analyzed, broken down into their component parts and then recombined in a new configuration. The aim is to acquire or maintain maximum control of key stages and processes, thus internalizing core competencies as a competitive advantage.