A vocabulary exercise covering the language of global sourcing and international supply chains. These terms are essential for procurement professionals working with suppliers across multiple countries.
📚 Key vocabulary request for proposal (RFP) — a document inviting suppliers to submit bids for a specific product or service purchase order (PO) — a commercial document authorizing a supplier to deliver specific goods or services at an agreed price vendor management — the process of overseeing and controlling relationships with external suppliers and service providers supply chain risk — the potential for disruptions or failures at any point in the supply chain that could affect operations strategic sourcing — a systematic approach to procurement that optimizes costs and aligns supplier relationships with business goals sole sourcing — purchasing from a single supplier when only one vendor can provide a particular product or service competitive bidding — a procurement process where multiple suppliers submit offers and the best one is selected vendor due diligence — the process of evaluating a supplier's financial stability, compliance, and capability before engagement SLA (Service Level Agreement) — a contract defining the expected level of service between a supplier and a client total cost of ownership (TCO) — the full cost of acquiring, operating, and maintaining a product or service over its lifetime
READY TO PRACTICE? LET’S GO!
Choose the correct response to complete each sentence.
1. Global sourcing helps companies _________________________.
Correct answer: (to) save money.
2. The process of __________________________ is similar to global sourcing, but it refers to finding the cheapest services, not products.
Correct answer: outsourcing.
3. Eastern Europe is not our primary market; it is a ____________________ market for our company.
Correct answer: second-tier.
4. Right now, we're in the process of identifying several _________________________ (meaning: important) global suppliers.
Correct answer: key.
5. We're not happy with our current supplier. We have to pursue _________________________ (meaning: other) supplier sources.
Correct answer: alternate.
6. In this procurement context, IPO ____________________ International Procurement Organization.
Correct answer: stands for.
7. Global sourcing has helped our company to reduce costs _________________________.
Correct answer: by 10%.
8. Foreign suppliers are often referred to as "_________________________" suppliers.
Correct answer: offshore.
9. When considering global sourcing options, it's important to ensure that price savings don't come _________________________ quality.
Correct answer: at the cost of.
10. More and more companies are using global sourcing = Global sourcing is _________________________.