Jim Whitlock, COO, and Jackie Zhang, VP of Procurement at DuBois, a Cincinnati-based specialty chemical company, discuss SGS Maine Pointe's role in transforming their procurement organization. The collaboration facilitated cross-functional teamwork, resulting in competitive outcomes and other significant improvements.
- The challenges facing the organization: Procurement processes and strategies were causing their spend to escalate while millions of possible savings were left on the table. No one in the company had recognized the difference between the small company of years ago and the current global company that was headed toward $1B in revenue. The company needed better data, more visibility around their spend, and an upskilled procurement department that understood indexes, market headwinds and tailwinds, and how to take advantage of market movement.
- The solutions implemented: SGS Maine Pointe created company-wide spend cubes; supplier agreements that would provide the company with index-based tracking and pricing transparency; and established new product qualifications that increased the supplier base and improved pricing
Results:
- 10.4% of EBITDA benefits in year 1
- 11% reduction in spend
- 6:1 ROI
- Increased visibility around spend
- Positively impacted the P&L of the company
- Embedded cross-functional team alignment for greater efficiency and effectiveness
- Implemented a new procurement management operating system
- Empowered procurement to drive sustainable, year-over-year savings
- Upskilled internal teams with enhanced negotiation training
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