The question of when should Purchasing get involved reminds me of an old friend who worked in a dental office. Patients would ask her, "Which teeth should I floss?" She would answer, "Which teeth do you want to keep permanently?"
In other words, the answer was so obvious that the question really didn't need to be asked. So it is here as well. Purchasing should be involved from the beginning of the sourcing process.
I can't tell you how many times when I worked for a large corporation I would see this: The Procurement Department would receive a requisition with an attached quote full of terms and conditions already signed by employee who wanted to buy the item or service. There was nothing we could do at that point except process a purchase order with the information already agreed to by our company's employee.
In order to put the "strategic" in Strategic Sourcing, Buyers should be a part of the process as soon as a user determines there is a need for a product or service.
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