A framework for choosing the right sourcing region for your products

Abstract: The impact of the sourcing department has gotten more and more attention in the past couple of decades. This has resulted in numerous frameworks and scorecards to guide companies through different sourcing decisions. This interest in sourcing has grown side by side with the increased globalisation and outsourcing. Therefore, relevant measurable criteria have moved from a supplier-oriented level, toward scorecards that evaluate countries and even larger regions. However, the current framework on a regional level is difficult to use for a specific company to obtain a diversified strategy for its products. Therefore, the purpose of the master thesis was to develop a framework to support the decision-making of which geographical regions Cake should source different products and components from. An abductive research strategy with both quantitative and qualitative data was used to develop the framework. In-depth interviews with industry experts, a senior lecturer, and companies were conducted, together with weekly workshops with the case company. This resulted in a framework consisting of three phases with a strategy that connects all phases. The developed framework was applied to Cake and resulted in a recommendation that indicates where each product category should be sourced and what categories need more focus from the sourcing department. This recommendation was also combined with a suggestion for how the framework should be continually updated to be operationally usable in the future. Finally, further improvements and possible next steps for the company were presented.