Insights
Perspectives on industrial cost, sourcing and suppliers.
Short, practical points of view from our practitioners: how cost is built, how supply bases fail, and what makes a recommendation survive contact with the shop floor.
The quote is not the starting point
Benchmarking and negotiation both start from the supplier’s number. Should-cost starts from the part, which is why it can explain what the other two cannot.
Opportunity is not outcome
Identified, negotiated, implemented and finance-validated savings are four different numbers. Treating them as one is how cost programmes lose credibility.
Supplier risk now sits beside savings
Procurement leaders are being asked to deliver savings and resilience at the same time. In industrial supply bases, the two are found in the same places.
India sourcing is a capability question
The economics of sourcing from India are real. Whether they reach your P&L depends on finding, validating and industrialising the right capability.
Intelligence first, then automation
Many procurement AI pilots stall for the same reason: the intelligence underneath them is not ready. Start with the decisions, then automate.
Benchmarks that end in decisions
A comparison table is the beginning of a benchmark, not the end of one. The useful part is what comes after the gap.