Should you make or should you buy? It’s a difficult question that requires a detailed analysis. Consider the example of a car engine. Do you source each major assembly — the engine, the frame, etc.; or do you source sub-assemblies — the carburetor, the fuel injector, etc; or do you source component parts — the throttle body, the choke pull-off, etc.; and so on. Do you build the final product in house from the major assemblies, or do you have a first tier supplier do it, or do you have one first tier supplier assemble the major assemblies from the sub-assemblies and send those assemblies to another first tier supplier who will assemble the car, or do you chose one of a thousand other supply chain models that can also get the job done?
The figures below hint at the complexity that needs to be considered to truly arrive at a best solution. The best, and most cost-effective, scenario will depend on the particular strengths and cost efficiencies of each supplier in the supply chain.
The only true way to find the best, and most cost-effective, scenario is by way of decision optimization with integrated make-vs-buy analysis capability that can span a multi-level Bill of Materials (BOM). While most SSDO (strategic sourcing decision optimization) platforms do not yet support this capability, it is a good bet that most of tomorrow’s will. To find out what other capabilities are forthcoming in the world of decision optimization, visit BravoSolution‘s website, fill out a short 8-field registration form, and receive your free, exclusive, copy of The Future of Optimization, a new Sourcing Innovation white-paper with groundbreaking insight on eight directions that strategic sourcing decision optimization is likely to take in the decade ahead.