MN3306 Enterprise Sourcing

This course is a graduate-level seminar in category management and enterprise sourcing. The course will be taught through a combination of formal lecture, guided discussion, and case analysis. The primary goal of this course is to develop, structure, and execute sourcing, not as a functional activity, but rather as a strategic component of total supply chain management. The course emphasizes the concept that companies with world-class sourcing practices derive a competitive advantage in their industries from their procurement and sourcing strategies. The course develops the concept of competitive advantage through category management and enterprise sourcing as it relates to efficient and effective structure and management within the Department of Defense. The emphasis on world-class sourcing practices entails observation and analysis of commercial organizations and their sourcing practices. The student will investigate whether select commercial organizations' sourcing practices are useful to the DoD and determine practical implementation for use in the DoD acquisition environment. Prerequisite: None.

Lecture Hours

Lab Hours

Course Learning Outcomes

Understand the principles, concepts and techniques of category management.
Understand the evolution of purchasing as a key enabler of category management.
Understand how firms set purchasing strategies and build category management plans.
Understand basic business intelligence spend analysis considerations and techniques.
Understand key negotiation tactics and accurately apply them in a scenario.
Understand the importance and value of supply chain chains and how they impact category management initiatives.
Develop strategic sourcing strategies for supplies and/or services.
Understand current and future challenges of category management and strategic sourcing.
Understand and apply change management principles to a category management scenario.
Think critically about enterprise sourcing challenges.