C3 AI Sourcing Optimization Introduction to Sourcing Optimization
C3 AI Sourcing Optimization is an enterprise AI application used by sourcing managers to improve procurement performance (lower cost, lower risk) through supplier, item and purchase order tracking, analysis, and alerting. C3 AI Sourcing Optimization enables users to:
- Make faster decisions by accessing data related to sourcing activity (purchase orders, suppliers and items) from the past 24 months within a single application, eliminating the need to access and combine multiple data sources
- Find suppliers that can efficiently supply specific items and view the supplier's associated contract information
- Leverage AI to detect pricing divergence and fluctuations by continuously monitoring price variances across suppliers and tracking item price correlation with market price indexes
- Analyze historical trends for item pricing to compare a negotiated price against historical prices
- Receive alerts when price changes, anomalies are detected, or unusual behavior in identified for purchase orders, suppliers and items
- Discover savings opportunities with configurable AI insights that continuously improve over time with user feedback
- Analyze sourcing spend across items and suppliers over time, and drill down to individual item, supplier, or purchase order line level detail
Through the capabilities listed above, C3 AI Sourcing Optimization enables companies to increase the value add of the procurement function and make data-driven sourcing decisions.
User guide audience
The target roles for this guide include the following:
- Sourcing Manager: Manages the relationship with the supplier. Works to negotiate the items that are to be purchased by a supplier, the cost of those items, along with the lead times for each supplier-facility-item combination.
- Material Planner: Ensures that the correct items are flowing into the facility, that the MRP is set up and working correctly, and that the right purchase orders are being created
- Commodity Leader: Oversees the purchase of commodities to assist a company's supply chain. Their main duties include procuring supplies from vendors (suppliers), evaluating market conditions to mitigate risks, and supervising department personnel.
Key Features
The following section describes some of the key features within C3 AI Sourcing Optimization:
- Alerts: C3 AI Sourcing Optimization enables the automatic creation of alerts based on unexpected behavior at the purchase order, supplier, and item level.
- Usage and value tracking: C3 AI Sourcing Optimization enables leadership teams to quickly monitor and track usage metrics to see which parts of an organization are adopting the solution and driving improvements in procurement processes.
- Insight-to-action workflows: C3 AI Sourcing Optimization includes insight-to-action workflows. Workflows are initiated by an AI-generated or rule-based alert and are followed by suggestions to perform further analysis and take appropriate actions to resolve risks and/or exception conditions.
Data Grid Definitions
C3 AI Sourcing Optimization uses data grids throughout the application to display and manage data. These grids provide a consistent user experience with features such as:
Common Grid Features
- Pagination: Configurable page sizes (typically 10, 20, 30, 40 items per page)
- Sorting: Most columns support ascending/descending sorting
- Filtering: Comprehensive filter panels for narrowing down data
- Export: CSV export functionality for data analysis
- Column Management: Resizable, removable, and reorderable columns
- Search: Text search capabilities on key fields
- Navigation: Clickable links to related entities and detail pages
Grid Types by Feature
Alerts
- Savings Alert Table: Displays item-related savings alerts with comprehensive filtering and bulk actions
- Delivery Alert Table: Shows delivery-related alerts
- Supplier Alert Table: Displays supplier-specific alerts
Items
- Item List Table: Comprehensive list of all items with key attributes and metrics
- Index List Grid: Items with related market price indexes for index matching
- Index Assignment Grid: Manages assignment of market price indexes to items
Purchase Orders
- Purchase Orders Nested Grid: Main purchase orders list with expandable order lines
- Purchase Orders Nested Inner Grid: Detailed order line information within purchase orders
- Purchase Order Detail Order Lines Grid: Order lines for specific purchase orders
Suppliers
- Supplier Detail PO History Grid: Purchase order history for specific suppliers
- Supplier Detail Items Supplied Grid: Items supplied by specific suppliers
- Supplier Detail Demand Change Grid: Demand and volume changes for supplier items
Value Tracking
- Value Tracking Projected Savings Grid: Projected savings from purchase requisitions and sourcing rules
- Value Tracking Purchase Order List Grid: Realized savings from purchase order line changes
- Item-Level Realized Savings Grid: Realized savings aggregated at item level
Reporting
- Sourcing Rules Reporting Grid: Sourcing rules changes for export templates
- Purchase Requisitions Reporting Grid: Purchase requisition adjustments for export
- Open Orders Reporting Grid: Open order adjustments for export
Index Management
- Index Assignment Grid: Market price index assignment to items
- Index Assignment Add Modal Grid: Contribution weight management for index assignments
Landed Cost
- TLC By Supplier Grid: Total landed cost information by supplier
- Item Detail Order Lines Grid: Order lines with landed cost components
- Item Detail Sourcing Rules Grid: Sourcing rules with landed cost information
Grid Configuration Standards
All grids follow consistent configuration patterns:
- Data Types: Each grid is bound to specific data types (Item, PurchaseOrder, Supplier, etc.)
- Column Definitions: Standardized column naming and field mapping
- Actions: Common actions like refresh, export, and entity-specific operations
- Filtering: Integrated filter panels with consistent filter options
- Navigation: Standardized linking between related entities
- Export: Consistent export functionality with field translation
User Experience Benefits
The UISDL data grid implementation provides:
- Consistency: Uniform look and feel across all application pages
- Performance: Optimized data loading and rendering
- Accessibility: Standard accessibility features and keyboard navigation
- Responsiveness: Adaptive layouts for different screen sizes
- Customization: User-configurable column visibility and ordering
- Integration: Seamless integration with filter panels and action buttons