When I first got a peek inside a full service e-sourcing process in the late nineties, I quickly realized that, despite all the posturing and spin behind how FreeMarkets and others positioned it, the process was really more science than art. Granted, back then, everyone still thought that you needed expensive and analytically driven MBAs to do much of the work behind the sourcing magic. In retrospect, this was obviously not true — you certainly needed smart team members but, provided they had the right people and quantitative skills, it did not even matter whether they graduated from high school, let alone Harvard. Fortunately today, full service e-sourcing has evolved to a stage where established processes and reliable, low-cost technology have lowered the barriers to entry such that nearly anyone who has done it before can pull together an organization and team to do it well without charging an arm and a leg for their services. Such is the case with UK-based e-sourcing firm e-Three, run by FreeMarkets alums James Anthony and Jenny Saward (Draper).
Earlier this year, I had the chance to catch up briefly with James in London over a sly half (pint). Now, as James reminded me, a sly half inevitably turns into a full one, but that’s almost beside the point because it’s the intention that counts…
