After 20+ years in the cellular industry, Director of Portfolio Management Jason Dalke is certainly a telecoms expert. In his current role, Jason leads the product discovery process at industry-leading, mobility master agent Hyperion Partners. We had the chance to chat with him to gain insight into what strategic sourcing really is and what the product discovery process really looks like.
Simply put, strategic sourcing is the process of pushing out and pulling in solutions from an organization. Strategic sourcing looks past the price of solutions/products and focuses on questions like: Who would want to buy this solution? Where is there a need for this solution? Do we already source a solution like it? What makes this solution unique? Does this solution have every component it needs to be successful? These questions are what makes this form of sourcing truly “strategic.”
Product discovery is just one step of the strategic sourcing process. It is the “pull-in” that makes pushing out new, unique and maximized solutions to clients possible. In short, product discovery is the hunt that goes into finding new solutions to sell.
In most cases, new products come to me. A range of people within and outside of our organization see solutions on the internet, out in the business world, or being applied throughout various use cases and realize they could work for our clients. Sometimes, I see a product advertised, or I am pitched a specific product, but a lot of times others see the solution and come to me to ask the question, “How could we use this?”
In addition to the “How could we use this?” question, I often ask, “Does this product have everything we need?” In telecoms specifically, discovering products means looking hard at nitty-gritty product specifications (product specs). We not only need to know if we have an audience for the solution, but also if that product uses the correct carrier, platform and certifications for that audience. These elements make telecom strategic sourcing much more complex.
The strategic sourcing process can best be described as a circle rather than linear steps. You may intersect the circle with a specific need or customer in mind, or you may see a product that stands out and research its specifications after. Regardless, the complete product discovery side of the process looks a little like this:
Looking at this process as a circle, rather than a numbered list allows Hyperion to source total solutions that really help our clients in the end. We are willing to work with customers and vendors on each piece of the puzzle, and it makes us stand out from the competition.
Hyperion360° SOURCE, the strategic sourcing element of our full-service device lifecycle solution, Hyperion360°, is here to make sure our clients consider ALL options, not just the ones they know. Our strategic sourcing and product discovery process is the best way to do this. We often times focus on introducing alternate, cost-efficient, or lesser-known solutions that not only solve the client’s needs, but even accomplish their “wants.”
If you’d like to know more about Hyperion’s strategic sourcing process, contact us today, or click here to join Hyperion's Partner Program.
