Material Handling Cost Reduction and Strategic Sourcing Services

Corcentric’s MRO Procurement consultants supplement our clients’ internal teams to develop and execute Material Handling Strategic Sourcing initiatives to reduce costs and develop competitive advantages.

Material Handling is among the most complicated sectors of MRO spend. Comprised of forklifts, reach trucks, batteries, fleet management software, dollies, and similar equipment, effective sourcing in the category is essential for optimizing warehouse operations and maximizing fleet life.

Developing an approach to Material Handling Strategic Sourcing means navigating a crowded provider landscape.  Procurement teams are tasked with weighing the benefits of local manufacturers versus those of national distributors. While these Material Handling providers offer similar types of equipment, the quality and life of their Material Handling products are far from consistent. Securing a cost effective relationship with a high-quality Material Handling provider typically requires more resources and Procurement expertise than an overworked organization is capable of providing.

Procurement professionals in the Material Handling space are confronted with a number of variables. To determine the most cost-effective sourcing strategy, they need to decide between purchasing new Material Handling equipment, purchasing used Material Handling equipment, renting this equipment, leasing it, or outsourcing their Material Handling operations to a Fleet Management provider.

Arriving at their sourcing strategy is further complicated by numerous variables. Seasonality of Material Handling needs, in-house maintenance capacity, daily Material Handling use, and other factors all play into Procurement’s decision making. The enormity of this task leads many organizations to develop ineffective methods for sourcing within the category. Locked into ineffective Material Handling partnerships, they miss out on savings and suffer through inefficient warehouse operations.

That’s where Corcentric’s Material Handling Strategic Sourcing experts come in.

• We’ll leverage our Material Handling expertise to analyze your current approach to the category and make cost-effective sourcing recommendations. These recommendations look beyond hard dollars to understand the Total Cost of Ownership associated with your Material Handling purchases and operations.
• We’ll arm your Procurement team with a database of Material Handling benchmark data. This information will help Procurement identify Material Handling programs with competitive, nationwide discount structures. Alternatively, we can support your organization is migrating to a regional Material Handling provider.
• We’ll oversee negotiations with your Material Handling providers. Conducting tri-lateral conversations with Material Handling manufacturers and distributors, we’ll ensure you attain a best-in-class pricing without sacrificing quality in either national or localized Material Handling services.
• We’ll support you in sourcing ancillary Material Handling supplies in conjunction other related categories. This will provide for Material Handling purchasing plans that split volumes among suppliers to ensure you achieve the best potential quality, value, and service level for every Material Handling product and category.

Our cost reduction consultants produce savings through Material Handling supplier consolidation, rent vs. purchase optimization, rebates, and other incentives. Savings, however are just one benefit of our Material Handling sourcing services. Throughout Material Handling engagements, we concentrate our efforts to help clients establish a Material Handling fleet that meets safety, operational, and quality standards while offering scalability to support organizational growth. Reach out to our Strategic Sourcing specialists today. Together, we’ll optimize your approach to Material Handling or any category of MRO spend.