Category projects

Category projects with a focus on total cost

All procurement organizations strive for lower costs. Regardless of if it’s to increase profitability, reduce waste, ensure capabilities for finance expansion or just to retain the competitive edge over competition.

At EFFSO, our focus is to deliver category projects that generate long-term value and ensure measurable and sustainable savings. That’s the heart of our business.

Category knowledge and EFFSO Mission Control Center

Our consultants have extensive category sourcing experience to quickly identify cost-saving opportunities. Over the past 15 years we’ve amassed deep and broad category expertise across both direct and indirect categories. The expertise has been channeled into our Mission Control Center, a knowledge bank filled with category-specific information about the supplier markets, specifications, procurement templates and processes. In essence, working with EFFSO means that more than 15 years of experience in category-based sourcing powers every category project that we support.

Typically, our category projects begin with a potential assessment, where EFFSO’s sophisticated methodology for finding possible savings can quickly identify which categories should be addressed. By focusing on total cost, we can also identify broader value-creating activities. Do you want to know more? Contact Us!

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Long and broad experience of category projects

EFFSO is the Nordic region’s leading purchasing experts with extensive experience in developing driven and modern procurement functions. Over the past 15 years, EFFSO has supported customers in both the public and private sectors with through category projects.

On average, EFFSO’s projects realize 5 to 15 percent savings depending on the category. Throughout the category projects, we focus on lowering total cost, considering both commercial conditions and costs as well as opportunities to influence volumes, specifications, and process efficiencies. All to deliver long-term value for the customer.

In the sourcing process we leverage price compression effects to a great extent in order to minimize a too high focus on lowest price. The goal is to find the optimal supplier, not just suppliers offering the lowest price. Quality, delivery precision, innovation capability, and the ability to match the buyer are also important parameters.

Total cost focus delivers more than just quick savings

In our category projects, we focus on lowering the total cost. Looking at a specific category, we strive to discover savings through multiple layers.

Commercial terms: Sourcing waves can deliver lower prices and better commercial terms.
Reduced volumes: Procurement can contribute to better profitability by identifying high-cost categories and steering purchases to reduce volumes.
Optimized specifications: Procurement can review existing specifications to identify a more optimal procurement level.
Improved processes: How do we buy? Who buys it? Can volumes be consolidated? Can the process be optimized to realize a higher value.

Our competence bank contributes to successful category projects

Mission Control Center (MCC) contains category specific processes, methodology, supplier data and knowledge. It’s our structural capital that allows our consultants to build competence and thus continuously deliver value to our customers.

The MCC enables EFFSO to tackle categories with a well-proven and structured methodology that includes best practice processes, total cost and cost distribution analysis as well as global supplier long lists. This allows EFFSO to recommend suitable strategies for a category at an early stage, jump starting the sourcing process.

With support in the MCC, EFFSO can then efficiently produce RFP/RFQ/RFI material to drive category projects and sourcing waves. The MCC also includes category cards with structured information regarding optimal negotiation strategies, best practice templates, digitalization enablers as well as additional support processes to optimize cost savings.

EFFSO also recommends implementation strategies to ensure that the identified savings are realized, to ensure that new agreements are used by the organization. The MCC incorporates more than 15 years of experience from EFFSO projects in direct materials as well as indirect materials and services. For both public and private sector.

Why EFFSO?

Incomparable knowledge

We have a 100% focus on purchasing and an outstanding knowledge of all parts of this area. We have a profound knowledge of both indirect and direct materials, and not to mention spend analysis. This profound knowledge spans across all types of categories and our broad intellectual capital is based on a well conceived set of tools, templates and methods.

We create lasting results

At EFFSO we are “doers” and specialists. We work together with you as a team to actually get the job done and get results. We enjoy a good relationship with our clients and would like to build a long-term relationship with you to ensure lasting results and a continuous influx of expert knowledge. We can help you find the right tools so that your organisation can handle all the improvements and changes over time.

A better financial outcome

We deliver credible, realised savings and ensure that you get the best possible yield from the hours spent. We deliver a start business case with a focus on ROI and charges that are directly tied to results. Our joint focus on financial results and on knowledge transfer and development in your purchasing team delivers a lasting effect.

A selection of customers by industry

Automotive

BorgWarner

CEVT

Kongsberg Automotive

Toyota MH

Energy, Real Estate & Construction

Bravida

NCC

Vattenfall

IT & Telecoms

Arelion

Axis Communications

Eltel Networks

Mycronic

Retail & Food

Ahlsell

Coop Sverige

ICA Gruppen

Menigo

Public Sector

City of Gothenburg

City of Mölndal

Swedavia

Systembolaget

Processing & Manufacturing

Boliden

Envirotainer

Lesjöfors

Services

High Chaparral

ISS

Kunskapsskolan

Samhall

Other

Bankgirot

MTR

OneMed

Stena Line

Are you looking for help with procurement?

Call us directly on +46 8 440 39 30 or use the contact form to the right and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Category projects