08 January 2023
Topics in this article
  • Food & Beverage
  • Transformation

Proxima worked with this food manufacturing client to find and deliver cost reduction opportunities across their third-party spending, deep-diving into product portfolios, market dynamics, and growth cycles for raw ingredients to provide sustainable outcomes that would leave behind transformational change.

Operating from its HQ in the UK and with an extended footprint across the US, Australia, and Poland, our client was building from its original straight-to-consumer model to move into new areas. From manufacturing branded products for supermarkets and co-manufacturing on behalf of other well-known household brands to providing innovative technology used within ration packs, the client was keen to expand its product offerings.

Following a period of slow growth and the impact of COVID-19 restrictions across its manufacturing, operations, and consumer sales, our client engaged a consultancy delivery partner for the first time in its history. The client recognized the need to optimize its third-party spending – which equated to over a quarter of a billion dollars annually – this move would release value and stabilize the cost base to support its next growth phase.

Approach

Proxima undertook a three-pronged approach to assess spend, deliver savings and retain value.

During a six-week opportunity assessment, Proxima set out to understand how the client managed third-party spend across its global locations. This phase identified a long list of tangible and qualified opportunities combining quick wins and longer-term strategic projects that would go beyond just tactical procurement.

Having reviewed the opportunities at hand, the client signed off the implementation phase, where Proxima mobilized quickly to plan the implementation activities, starting with quick wins such as incumbent negotiations to preparing the strategic projects and reviewing product specifications.

To embed the sustainable change, Proxima worked with the client’s procurement team to elevate their presence in the business and set in motion broader considerations in procurement practices, including manufacturing impact assessment, waste reduction, and product profitability, while continuing to deliver competitive supply during high market volatility.

Results

The project delivered the following results:

  • Overall savings equating to 5% of total global spend were qualified, quantified and signed-off
  • 75% of savings were delivered in the packaging sector alone
  • Significant savings delivered from five logistics projects
  • Almost 10% of the savings were identified in direct ingredients, driven by improved demand planning, early negotiations, and commodity tracking.

Client Testimonial

“The decision to engage a management consultancy for the very first time in our company history was a significant step for the business. We needed a partner that could very quickly embed themselves into our teams, and Proxima did just that. From the initial assessment right through to the implementation of the program, the team was committed to helping us drive our business forward. Significant impact was delivered amid extremely challenging external factors such as COVID-19 and global logistics issues.

The Proxima team adapted quickly and designed a program that brought costs down and helped the businessnavigate the changing landscape. They worked with our business, fostering genuine relationships, and ultimately, Proxima were the right partners for our organization.”

– CFO

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