Supplier Sourcing Software Solutions to Know About
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Supplier Sourcing Software Solutions to Know About

By: Stefan Gergely - 27 January 2025

Traditional supplier sourcing means procurement teams do all the heavy lifting, which leaves little room for strategic planning.

In this day and age, however, there are ways to automate and streamline sourcing.

Sourcing solutions eliminate inefficiencies and provide in-depth analyses of vast amounts of data to identify the best supplier matches for your business.

Having the right software makes all the difference, which is why we’ll be looking into some of the top supplier sourcing solutions you should know about.

Ready to transform your sourcing and build strong supplier relationships while reducing costs?

Then let’s dive right in.

Veridion

We’ll begin with our AI-powered supplier sourcing solution and data service, Veridion.

Veridion leverages machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to create comprehensive business profiles on any company worldwide that has a digital footprint.

Source: Veridion on Youtube

This data-centric approach caters to large enterprises and procurement teams that want to make informed sourcing decisions based on:

  • supplier capabilities,
  • performance, and
  • risk profiles.

The high-level supplier intelligence is powered by Veridion’s expansive network of over 100 million suppliers globally—twenty times more than the second-largest solution on the list, Ivalua.

A quick search for biodegradable packaging suppliers helps visualize this.

Veridion dashboard

Source: Veridion

But the sheer volume of insights is just one part of the equation.

What sets Veridion apart is its granular, real-time data on a wide range of metrics.

These include suppliers’ financial stability, ESG compliance, historical performance, and specific product offerings.

In other words, you’re looking at highly accurate and efficient supplier evaluation, as well as proactive risk management for even the most sophisticated supply chains.

The challenging task of navigating the evolving risk landscape becomes a breeze with Veridion’s up-to-date TPRM data and AI-powered predictive analytics.

You can access critical data points in mere seconds while gaining granular control of confidence scores, custom-made risk factors, and real-time alerts.

Veridion's API features infographic

Source: Veridion

What’s important to keep in mind is that Veridion isn’t equipped with all the features found in broader procurement management suites, like Jaggaer or SAP Ariba.

Moreover, while it supports natural language search, the platform is built for pro data users and businesses that require large-scale business decision automation.

Nevertheless, Veridion’s vast datasets make it one of the most powerful supplier sourcing platforms, enabling businesses to streamline clunky processes and enhance decision-making at every step.

Reach out directly to discuss how we can tailor our offer to your specific data needs and use case.

SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba streamlines procurement processes using a range of tools and a whole ecosystem of products.

The strategic sourcing suite offers extensive supplier discovery, qualification, and management tools, while the vast business network facilitates smooth onboarding and ongoing collaboration.

SAP Ariba offers several features that enable more informed, strategic decision-making across the entire pipeline, such as guided sourcing.

SAP Ariba dashboard

Source: SAP Community 

An intuitive user interface enables easy, single-page creation of sourcing events, while deeper analytics—powered by AI and machine learning-based features—support ongoing management.

Given its up-to-date view of key supplier information, from performance to potential risks, SAP Ariba is an excellent choice for large enterprises navigating complex supply chains.

However, making the most of the suite’s capabilities and various integrations isn’t always straightforward.

As one Capterra user notes:

“It really depends on how well Ariba gets deployed at your organization due to the extensive customization and automation options. But after we deployed it effectively, Ariba became effortless to use.”

With that said, another frequently raised issue is the steep price of implementation and maintenance, as well as said customization.

Many factors impact the final pricing, but sites like Vendr put the average annual cost of SAP Ariba at about $25,000.

Cost of SAP Ariba software infographic

Source: Vendr

In the end, the best course of action is to request a quote and see if the tailored offer fits both your budget and business needs.

Scoutbee

Scoutbee’s AI-driven supplier sourcing combines supplier intelligence with scouting tools to streamline the source-to-contract process and map new and niche suppliers on a global scale.

Scoutbee Discovery combines advanced machine learning and AI-driven analysis to reach a broad pool of suppliers and quickly match their capabilities with your procurement needs.

Having applied key filters such as product type, region, or technology, sourcing teams receive detailed supplier information on everything from employee counts and finances to certifications.

All the supplier data is accessible from a single tab and easy to sift through, as shown below.  

Scoutbee customer review on G2

Source: G2

You can use tables to compare attributes like revenue, capabilities, and sustainability, and seamlessly visualize how these new suppliers stack up against your current supplier base.

On top of that, Scoutbee’s Discovery Gen AI feature allows you to initiate conversations about specific products or services to refine search criteria and ensure maximum relevance.

Scoutbee dashboard

Source: Scoutbee

Scoutbee excels at collecting supplier diversity data to empower organizations to optimize their supplier base with diverse businesses.

They also have a strategic partnership with supplier.io, a company specializing in supplier diversity solutions.

This collaboration enables users to integrate third-party data related to risk, ESG, and diversity.

Aylin Basom, supplier.io’s CEO, puts it:

“We are excited to partner with Scoutbee to help us further our mission of helping companies grow, manage, and optimize supplier diversity programs. (…) This strategic partnership is going to extend our capabilities to leverage AI technology to scale and expand the adoption of supplier diversity faster.”

And while Scoutbee delivers quick results on hard-to-find suppliers, it’s important to note that it offers fewer supplier management features.

It also has a much more modest dataset compared to Veridion and other tools on this list.

The pricing is not listed on the website, so if this solution sounds interesting, you would need to contact the Scoutbee team directly.  

Jaggaer

Jaggaer offers an end-to-end procurement management solution for large enterprises from different industries, including automotive and healthcare.

The broad range of features covers spend analysis tools and procurement analytics.

However, its strategic sourcing capabilities rest on strong supplier relationship management.

Jaggaer facilitates long-term supplier collaboration through a robust supplier network portal and by integrating supplier performance and risk management insights into the sourcing process.

All this data trickles into Jaggaer’s sourcing optimizer.

It enables users to create multiple scenarios for comparison and collect better bids, all while minimizing compliance risks.

The video below shows how this works:

Source: JAGGAER on Youtube

Moreover, configurable rate management allows procurement teams to adjust pricing without starting a full sourcing event, resulting in both time and cost savings.

The unified JAGGAER One platform also caters to the public sector.  

Jaggaer impact on public sector procurement infographic

Source: JAGGAER

The solution automates bid and tender processes in a way that enhances transparency and stakeholder engagement.

This ultimately results in an efficiency boost and more spend under management.

While Jaggaer is quite scalable, some of the reviews on Capterra point to a learning curve, as well as a costly and complex setup.

Jaggaer customer review on Capterra

Source: Capterra

According to SelectHub, Jaggaer offers limited training resources, but is one of the user favorites based on budget and supplier management, so be sure to explore pricing options.

Coupa

While primarily recognized as a business spend management suite for large enterprises invested in better cost optimization, Coupa provides comprehensive sourcing services, too.

Rooted in supplier collaboration and analytics, the software enables you to source and manage suppliers from a single platform.

For instance, procurement teams can easily set up routine and complex sourcing events using structured supplier scorecards, ensuring a match in capacity and palpable savings.

Coupa dashboard

Source: Coupa

Once the award scenario is chosen, the software enables a seamless shift toward contract creation, thereby automating much of the contract lifecycle management.

Nevertheless, supplier insights inform and drive key sourcing processes, as explained in the following video.

Source: Coupa on Youtube

By integrating performance data and analytics, as well as robust risk management tools, Coupa makes it easier for users to optimize supplier contracts and de-risk their business.

Moreover, Coupa’s database of 10+ million suppliers provides access to essential community intelligence.

The aggregated data can be easily turned into actionable insights.

This allows you to benchmark performance and identify trends in real time, which creates the foundation for both short-term sourcing decisions and best practices.

As with any excellent tool, Coupa still has its downsides, and as per user reviews, one of them is limited customization.

A basic customization of workflows available to users may not work for highly specialized businesses with more specific needs.

Like with all other steeply priced options that don’t offer a free trial, choosing Coupa requires thorough research and certainty that it will deliver value.

Ivalua

Ivalua’s Source-to-Pay (S2P) platform is sure to catch the eye of large enterprises looking for a comprehensive sourcing and spend management solution.

The solution’s full suite of supplier management tools—including supplier onboarding, qualification, and performance evaluation—fuels end-to-end sourcing for all spend types.

However, effective sourcing management traces back to the sourcing dashboard, which contains all the key information on teams, ongoing tasks, dependencies, and more.

Ivalua dashboard

Source: Ivalua

Intuitive UI enables easier collaboration among stakeholders and quick access to different types of RFx templates for enhanced compliance.

The dashboard also acts as the strategic decision center.

It allows users to seamlessly access collected data on supplier spend, risks, and performance, as well as pre-built scenarios to quickly compare different allocation options and maximize value.

Source: Ivalua on Youtube

Thanks to its strong data integration across all modules, Ivalua is a popular choice among businesses with complex, global procurement needs.

However, some users note that implementation can get tricky and that technical support leaves room for improvement.

Ivalua customer review on Gartner

Source: Gartner

The same reviewer points out that, unlike Jaggaer, the software lacks options for procurement management in the public sector.

Nevertheless, Ivalua’s comprehensive platform and a string of powerful features fulfill all the major sourcing and procurement management needs.

Zycus

Another solution leveraging generative AI, Zycus provides a comprehensive e-sourcing suite with supplier qualification, live bidding, and auction management features.

A part of Zycus’ integrated S2P suite, the sourcing module drives efficiency primarily through the one-click sourcing app called Quick Sourcing.

With this standout feature, you can seamlessly turn purchase requisitions into sourcing events, resulting in shorter procurement cycles.

Zycus dashboard

Source: Zycus

This functionality helps extract quotes and compare bids on smaller sourcing events.

What-if scenarios and analyses, on the other hand, are available through the iLogix sourcing optimization module.

Zycus puts a lot of focus on improving supplier engagement, starting with easy access to all available competitive bidding events over its supplier network portal.

Zycus dashboard

Source: Zycus

However, these efforts go beyond enabling participation.

Different collaboration tools and intelligent automated workflows help streamline sharing, reviewing, and reporting processes while generating valuable insights.

One possible obstacle here is the suppliers’ ability to navigate through this system, as pointed out by one G2 reviewer.

Zycus S2P review on G2

Source: G2

While this problem arose within a different module, it still affects supplier data, possibly impeding communication and sourcing processes.

Despite the possible hiccups, Zycus is still an excellent solution for private and public enterprises focused on e-sourcing and integrating procurement processes.

Conclusion

Supplier sourcing software comes in many flavors.

But the one thing these solutions have in common is a range of powerful features and access to vast amounts of data.

From automating supplier discovery and simplifying workflows to compiling supplier profiles, these tools create the foundation for meeting all your procurement needs.

By choosing the right one, you’re bound to unlock greater efficiency, build stronger supplier relationships, and gain an edge over your competition.

But before you take the leap, take enough time to explore everything these solutions offer.

When you feel you have the necessary information, you can take the next step toward transforming your sourcing, and procurement in general.