How to source suppliers
Build a resilient and efficient supply chain
The days when the only measure of a good purchase was the lowest price are over. In a world of geopolitical instability, procurement is shifting from an administrative function to a strategic pillar of the company. The buyer's job today isn't just to "buy" — it's to ensure production continuity and eliminate risk.
In this guide we'll show you how to use modern data tools to identify reliable partners, how to tell a reseller from a manufacturer, and why active sourcing is the key to your company's stability.
What you'll learn
- Why traditional procurement runs into its limits
- Strategic diversification: The 80/20 Pareto rule in procurement
- How to recognise a manufacturer and spot a company in trouble
- Supplier Discovery: From manual research to AI sourcing
- Checklist: Is your procurement process resilient to risk?
- The buyer as an architect of stability
Why traditional procurement runs into its limits
Relying on long-standing suppliers and printed catalogues no longer cuts it. According to the EY Geostrategic Outlook, companies face pressure toward so-called friendshoring — moving procurement to geopolitically more stable regions.
Traditional procurement runs into three barriers:
- Information blindness: Most procurement teams see only a fraction of the market. The smaller, more agile suppliers who could deliver innovation slip through their fingers.
- Time-consuming vetting: Identifying and validating a new supplier takes weeks on average. According to a Supplier.io study, up to 96% of buyers hit barriers when searching for and vetting smaller, specialised suppliers.
- Geopolitical dependency: Over-concentration in a single region creates critical risk to business continuity.
Strategic diversification: The 80/20 Pareto rule in procurement
Relying on a single supplier is a gamble. The strategic answer is diversification built on the Pareto rule:
80% of volume
Route to your main partner to maximise volume discounts.
20% of volume
Deliberately order from a backup supplier.
This keeps the backup partner in an active commercial relationship. If your number-one supplier fails, you can scale orders immediately without going through the lengthy onboarding of a new source.
How to recognise a manufacturer and spot a company in trouble
Betting on the lowest bid can backfire if you're unknowingly dealing with a trader who marks up the price by 20–30%. The key to efficient procurement is the ability to clearly distinguish a direct manufacturer from a middleman in the data.
1. Focus on NACE codes
NACE codes aren't 100% reliable, but they can be a strong hint. Look at the primary business activity code:
- Look for Section C (Manufacturing): These companies actually produce.
- Watch out for Section G (Wholesale): Often these are middlemen.
Buying directly at the source saves you the margin you'd otherwise pay an intermediary.
2. Watch financial health
Warning signs that a supplier might fail before they fail to deliver:
- Revenue decline two years in a row.
- Negative equity (over-indebtedness).
- Rising debt-to-asset ratio.
Intedat tools analyse the actual content of company websites. If a firm showcases its own machinery and technology, the system flags it as a manufacturer and separates it from purely commercial entities.
Supplier Discovery: From manual research to AI sourcing
Digital transformation in procurement delivers measurable results. Companies that the Deloitte 2025 Global CPO Survey labels "Digital Masters" achieve up to 2.8× higher ROI from GenAI technology compared to the rest.
What AI sourcing looks like in practice
Finding a substitute
Identifying a specific technology
“Find companies with 5-axis CNC milling and IATF 16949 certification in Poland and Slovenia.”
Diversification
Strategic sourcing in new regions
“We import aluminium castings from China; suggest 3 alternative regions in Europe and find the top 10 manufacturers there.”
Intedat Outreach then lets you automate all the communication. Reaching out in the supplier's native language (e.g. German or Polish) dramatically increases the chance of a quick, high-quality quote.
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Checklist: Is your procurement process resilient to risk?
Pressure-test the backbone of your sourcing:
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We have backup plans: Have we identified at least two backup manufacturers for every critical item?
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We check NACE codes: Are we confident we're buying from a direct manufacturer and not paying a reseller's margin?
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We watch financial warning signals: Do we get automatic alerts on deteriorating creditworthiness of our key partners?
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We use comparative quotes: Do we have fresh market data in hand to negotiate price with the current supplier?
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We speak the supplier's language: Do we use the local language for foreign sourcing to boost campaign success?
The buyer as an architect of stability
Effective sourcing in the digital era is no longer about luck when trawling the internet — it's about strategic work with information.
While machines instantly filter the market and vet creditworthiness, the buyer can focus on deep analysis of offers and on building relationships with key manufacturers.
Don't let your supply chain rest on clay feet — prop it up with data that gives you a negotiation edge and calm during turbulence.
From now on the whole world is your market
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