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About Us

Welcome to the Center for Strategic Sourcing at the University of North Texas. At UNT, we are passionate about sourcing. It goes by many names such as purchasing, procurement, strategic sourcing, contracting, and supply management, but the general idea is to find sources to meet business needs. That sounds simple, but its complexity is vexing.

Almost weekly, we see stories in the news about weaknesses in supply chains and sourcing. Take for example the Fat Leonard case regarding collusion, bribery, inflated prices, and fraudulent billing involving eight years of berthing services for the U.S. Navy – unmentionable nefarious activity worthy of a Netflix series. What about the semiconductor shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic- a component so fundamental to automobile manufacturers? After cutting vehicle production, with low relative power and no relationship with chip makers, auto manufacturers lost their place in the order queue of semiconductor manufacturers causing delays in vehicle deliveries. How about the sudden loss of domestic supply of gunpowder – a key ingredient for over 300 types of munitions - following an explosion at gunpowder mill in Louisiana in 2021? It is shocking to see firms and government agencies unaware of their who their second-tier, third-tier, etc. suppliers are for critical supplies. When I worked in the U.S. Air Force, we realized we had over 100 suppliers for an oscilloscope – clearly not leveraging our spend. Unfortunately, such weaknesses in organizational sourcing persist.

Strategic sourcing is imperative today to obtain a sustained competitive advantage, while maintaining compliance and mitigating supply chain risks. A study by Ardent Partners showed that 25% of CPOs attained “game-changing” impact from procurement in 2023. Whether your focus is to lower total cost of ownership, cut cycle time, or to win via differentiation/innovation, strategic sourcing plays a central role. In fact, did you know that Tim Cook, before becoming Apple’s CEO, was a Chief Procurement Officer? Coincidence, or did Steve Jobs see Cook’s ability to put suppliers at the heart of the firm?

The strategic role of sourcing in designing and orchestrating a supply chain is not a new idea; the seeds were sown over 40 years ago in Peter Kraljic’s (1983) seminal piece published in Harvard Business Review titled “Purchasing Must Become Supply Management”. Examples of success stories by IBM, John Deere, Honda, Harley Davidson, etc. were detailed in the book The Purchasing Machine by Nelson, Moody, and Stegner in 2001. Most recently (2022), the timeless tenets of strategic sourcing were reinforced by authors from the Boston Consulting Group in the book Profit From The Source: Transforming Your Business by Putting Suppliers at the Core.

Evidence of the importance of strategic sourcing can be found in the number of high-paying job posting at any given time. Scanning the position requirements gives insights into the critical strategic and tactical skills needed.

Surprisingly, while demand is high, academic programs focused on strategic sourcing, procurement, etc. are nearly non-existent at the undergraduate level. As such, at UNT, we are creating a new concentration in Purchasing in our Bachelors of Science degree in Supply Chain Management. We will offer three core courses in: (1) strategic sourcing & supplier relationship management, (2) negotiation, and (3) cost & price analysis. Knowledge and skills from these three courses will enable our graduates to hit the ground running in strategic sourcing.

We believe strategic sourcing is worthy of focused attention and resources. That is the purpose of the Center for Strategic Sourcing. We endeavor to be the catalyst for generating and disseminating sourcing knowledge.

The faculty and I would enjoy the opportunity to discuss this profession and the many opportunities available to you at UNT and the North Texas region. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more or to request any additional information.

For prospective students, we look forward to discussing career opportunities and having you in our classes. For practitioners, we look forward to connecting you with our finest graduates and collaborating on breakthrough research.

Best regards,

Tim Hawkins, Ph.D., Lt Col (ret.), USAF
Professor of Supply Management
Director, Center for Strategic Sourcing