In Today’s Fraught World, Direct Sourcing Bottlenecks Can’t Survive

InnovationIn Today’s Fraught World, Direct Sourcing Bottlenecks Can’t SurviveByAlex Saric,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 15, 2026, 08:00am EDTAlex Saric is the chief marketing officer at Ivalua. getty​As global supply chain disruptions continue to batter businesses at shrinking intervals, redefining trade, direct sourcing has been forced to adapt. It’s gone from a back-office team to the function that decides whether a business can weather geopolitical storms.Take the Strait of Hormuz crisis, where Iran has been throttling shipping traffic. When a critical oil trade route is constrained, rising demand and costs ripple across global supply chains. Businesses and suppliers are faced with rising energy, transport and insurance costs. Delays increase across connected supply chains, and weaker vendors can quickly come under financial strain.The same applies to tariffs, sanctions, export controls and regional conflict. Whenever a new geopolitical shock takes hold, businesses are forced to make high-stakes decisions on cost, continuity, quality and risk at speed.In this volatile environment, organizations need processes that support fast, informed decision-making.The Rise Of ResilienceDirect sourcing has become the hub for supply chain resilience. The most agile organizations have used their superior supply chain visibility and relationships to secure in-demand supplies, manage risk, protect profitability and nimbly respond to disruptions.But too many organizations are still reliant on sluggish manual processes with limited insight into suppliers. Supplier information often sits across spreadsheets, emails, ERP systems and local records. Contract terms may be stored separately from sourcing history, risk data and supplier performance metrics. Approval processes often depend on manual back-and-forth, while v...