Contracts don’t deliver ; execution does
- Eastern Legacy
- May 4
- 4 min read
Updated: May 6
Why most IT sourcing strategies fail, and what to do instead?
By Eastern Legacy Advisory
The uncomfortable truth about sourcing
Most organisations still treat sourcing as a procurement exercise.
Write the RFP. Run the process.Negotiate the contract.
Select the vendor.
Then hope it works.
But in 2026, this model is no longer just outdated — it is structurally flawed.
Because sourcing is no longer about choosing a supplier. It is about orchestrating a complex, multi-layered ecosystem of services, risks, and outcomes.
And this is where most strategies fail.
The shift no one can ignore
Three forces have fundamentally reshaped sourcing:
Cloud and “as-a-service” models have turned fixed investments into variable, hard-to-control operating costs
Regulation has moved sourcing into the domain of resilience, auditability, and accountability
AI is redefining how services are delivered, priced, and governed
The result?
Sourcing is no longer a commercial decision. It is an operational, architectural, and governance challenge
As highlighted in your research, organisations that succeed are not those with the best contracts — but those that industrialise the basics while preserving optionality
Why most sourcing strategies fail?
Across sectors, failure patterns are remarkably consistent:
1. Sourcing is treated as paperwork
Too many organisations optimise the contract, not the execution model.
But contracts cannot:
fix unclear ownership
