SVM's 2012 Priorities: Integrating Traditional Sourcing Practices With New Business Needs

Forrester fielded its second annual Global Sourcing and Vendor Management Priorities Online Survey in Q3 2011 to 156 sourcing and vendor management (SVM) professionals. The survey highlighted some notable changes over the 2010 survey: While many priorities for SVM professionals remain fixed on the core keeping-the-lights-on activities, Forrester sees some shifts toward more strategic vendor management and business alignment. In our view, SVM professionals can do more to fulfill our stated mission for the role: to balance business value, cost, and risk when sourcing and managing technology vendors. At the same time, we see plenty of evidence that a true transformation of the role is underway — a transformation that will move SVM professionals away from acting as internal order takers for IT and toward proactive business enablement and alignment with customer needs.