What is the toughest part about material sourcing?

Toughest part in material sourcing is your call, on compromising on one of these three factors1.
Quality.2.
Quantity3.
Price.
If you get the volume (quantity), and the quality of your requirement then price is only factor that you have to compromise i.e.
by paying more.
If you get the price and the quality of your requirement then full quantity is a issue until and unless you go for long term agreement with rigid quality clauses.
As you would agree to that today all resources are depleting and quality is slowly getting to worse levels.
If you get volume (quantity) and price of your choice then quality which is quite vital for the production process is compromised.
To cut short the answer, its always advisable to frame your contracts that your interest is best suited for your business plan.
Regards Ravi +0

Mainly the payment terms of the Supplier / manufacturer is toughest part of the material sourcing.

Unforeseen delays in Sea/ Air shipments.
But mainly it depends case to case, some time to be agreed on pricing or other trade terms/ sometimes follow- up and sometimes unforeseen delays in shipments

high quality with competitive prices

I have to know what is the most important issue when i determine the core of my priority ,if the price is the highest importance ,then the toughest part is the lowest price and the payment terms with the accepted quality compared with the price also the delivery time ,if the time is my first priority ,then the toughest part the speedy delivery of th accepted material quality and price .
if the quality is my first ,then the toughest part is the highest quality with accepted delivery time and price and terms.

In my experience to find out the manufacturer/supplier of quality products.
But some times it is also difficult to follow-up for the delays in delivery/shipments due to unexpected reasons.