Our Sourcing team plays a crucial role, as it manages the entire supply process, from selecting suppliers for materials and services to processing payment for orders.

We asked the Sourcing team to share more about their extensive and diverse range of responsibilities.

What does your team do?

The Sourcing team manages the entire process from the selection of suppliers for direct and indirect materials and services to payment for orders, known as the source-to-pay process. This process includes mapping the supplier landscape, selecting suppliers, negotiating contracts, placing orders, and handling invoicing. While sending purchase orders is a fundamental operational task for Sourcing, there are significant differences in the processes that are followed before the first order is placed across different procurement categories. Our MEMS sensor business has several characteristics that typically require extensive preliminary work in our sourcing activities, such as testing and often also product development in collaboration with suppliers.

Direct materials – used directly in Murata’s MEMS sensor products – must ensure the performance we aim for while meeting both the quality requirements of the automotive industry and environmental and ethical standards set for our supply chain. Additionally, selected suppliers and materials must be available throughout the long life cycles of our products (10–15 years). For this reason, the Sourcing team is closely involved in product development projects at a very early stage and continuously collaborates with Supplier Quality Management team. Cleanroom production also imposes specific requirements, making the selection of auxiliary production materials often a lengthy process. The team also works closely with the entire Murata Group on a global scale. 

What skills are needed in your team?

Business understanding and negotiation skills are key in all sourcing activities. The ability to tolerate uncertainty and rapid changes has been tested in recent years through various exceptional situations, and reading a crystal ball might also be a useful skill. The softer side of sourcing involves a lot of networking and maintaining supplier relationships, while the harder side requires knowledge of legal matters and a long-term perspective on risk management. Analytical skills and project management abilities are also beneficial. Sourcing includes individuals with both technical and commercial backgrounds.

In our team, there are two types of roles: Buyer roles and Sourcing Manager roles. Buyers are responsible for managing the daily order-to-payment process within their procurement category, as well as determining short-term material needs and ensuring material availability. On the other hand, Sourcing Managers oversee the entire supplier relationship, including supplier selection, contract and pricing negotiations, and supplier evaluations. Additionally, Sourcing Managers plan the long-term development of the entire procurement category using category management tools. Both roles also involve a lot of process development in collaboration with internal stakeholders as well as suppliers.

What is the best part of your work?

In our MEMS sensor business, we collaborate with some of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers as well as major automotive manufacturers – and of course, in addition to these giants, we also work with numerous smaller companies both in Finland and globally. Our operating environment is genuinely global, diverse, and constantly changing. The results of our work directly impact the success and competitiveness of our business in the market, which adds significance to each day.

Within our own team, mutual trust and team spirit are appreciated. Our work offers many opportunities for learning and development.

How do you apply Murata’s corporate philosophy and cultural etiquette?

We strive to operate equally and kindly both internally and towards our suppliers, maintaining an open discussion culture. In building supplier relationships, we emphasize reliability and responsibility. We aim to anticipate potential changes and respond to evolving needs. We develop our team’s operations and supplier collaboration through new solutions and operational models.

The combined age of the Sourcing team members is 804 years. The team includes representatives from various generations, including Baby Boomers as well as Generation X, Y, and Z.