Sourcings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of obtaining or procuring goods or services from a supplier or vendor
2. Engaging with suppliers to find materials or resources necessary for production or operations
3. The strategic approach to identifying, evaluating, and establishing partnerships with vendors for business needs

Etymology: "Sourcings" is the plural of "sourcing," a noun meaning the strategic work of finding, assessing and lining up vendors or suppliers for an organisation's needs. The plural form is an inflection of that base term, so its history is essentially the history of "sourcing" itself. "Sourcing" is built from "source," which came into English from Old French "sourse," meaning a spring or the place where a stream rises, ultimately from Latin "surgere," to rise. The sense of "source" as the origin of something followed from that image of water welling up from the ground. The "-ing" ending turns the noun into a verbal noun describing the activity of tracing and obtaining things from a particular origin.

Synonyms: procurements, purchasings, acquisitions, obtaining, provisions