The 10 Golden Rules of Strategic Sourcing
1	Avoid a piecemeal approach: Leverage sourcing as an integral component of your overall business strategy.
2	Be strategic: Ensure that your service delivery model is not only aligned with, but will also drive forward, the enterprise’s ambitions.
3	Take a holistic, enterprise-wide approach: This will maximise economies of scale, avoid duplication and ensure continuity of standards.
4	Sourcing is not synonymous with outsourcing: Review your present operating model and create a roadmap for future requirements that considers all of your options both internal and external, while balancing value, risk and speed.
5	Sourcing is an ongoing process, not an isolated decision: By deploying flexible services from wherever they are best provided, you can quickly and effectively respond to changing market conditions.
6	View service providers as partners: By keeping service providers informed of business goals and constraints as they evolve, and by structuring the relationship so that it is beneficial to both sides, your partners can innovate and transform in order to provide long-term value.
7	Ensure buy-in: Executive sponsorship, centralised management and company-wide support are vital for success.
8	Identify the changes necessary to move to the new model: Communicate a compelling vision of the future that conveys the competitive advantage for the company and the opportunities for employees.
9	Service Management & Governance: Develop a corporate Service Management & Governance function with the skills and systems needed to drive effective sourcing strategy, execution and management.
10	Seek independent advice: Develop an informed perspective on your current operating costs and performance vis-à-vis the market and the future potential of your target operating model.