The sourcing process can be made much more efficient through the use of a dedicated Sourcing Portal in which designated buyers and suppliers have secured access.  The sourcing data is confidential and managed in a flexible, structured, consistent manner enhancing the data quality enormously and reducing time to market considerably.

The kernel of a portal application is the workflow around product catalogs that are created by the suppliers over the Web and then used among all key players in the buying process. Typical players in the sourcing workflow are suppliers, traders, agents, overseas buying offices, retail merchandisers, logistics, quality control and local buyers.

The most cost-effective way for a retailer to implement a sourcing portal quickly, is to outsource to a proven global company to customize, host and manage the portal for you.  Delivered in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model provides retailers with low operating costs, simple deployment, and a methodology for adoption by both buyers and suppliers.  The application is based on the latest Microsoft technology providing for guaranteed ease of use.
The solution is delivered as a turnkey system for which retailers customize their product classifications (taxonomy), product sheet attributes, layout, and general look & feel. The retailer does not have to spec, develop or run any software or hardware.