The steps in a strategic sourcing process are:

1. Assessment of a company's current spend (what is bought where?)
2. Assessment of the supply market (who offers what?)
3. Total cost analyses (how much does it cost to provide those goods or services?)
4. Identification of suitable suppliers
5. Development of a sourcing strategy (where to buy what considering demand and supply situation, while minimizing risk and costs)
6. Negotiation with suppliers (products, service levels, prices, geographical coverage, etc.)
7. Implementation of new supply structure
8. Track results and restart assessment (continuous cycle)

Strategic sourcing was initiated by General Motors in the 1980s. Strategic sourcing was later formalised into a methodology and implemented at other large scale blue chip companies with support of consulting companies like A. T. Kearney, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, and many others. This methodology become the norm for procurement departments and is today considered to be standard procurement working process.