Materne North America, known as the global leader in ‘applesauce in a pouch’ under the brand GoGo squeeZ, recently partnered with Arkestro, a leading provider of predictive procurement orchestration (PPO) services.
This collaboration aimed to address two key objectives for Materne: reducing packaging costs and expanding its supplier network to safeguard its growing business.
Materne achieved a noteworthy cost-saving milestone of $1m in a single procurement event.
This achievement was made possible through Arkestro’s PPO, which not only streamlined Materne’s procurement processes but also facilitated the discovery and integration of two additional suppliers.
This newfound diversity in the supplier network ensures Materne has backup options for every carton size, a crucial aspect that it says was lacking before.
Improving data quality and streamlining processes
Arkestro’s PPO is not only about cost savings; it also aids Materne in enhancing its data quality.
By automatically suggesting offers that include accurate item stock-keeping units, the platform assists Materne’s procurement team in avoiding time-consuming and data-cleaning processes associated with offers.
This improvement in data quality contributes to the efficiency of Materne’s overall procurement operations.
Planning for future growth
As Materne sets its sights on doubling in size over the next five years, Mathieu Pappalardo, vice-president of Materne Procurement, emphasises the need to become more cost-competitive and ensure supplier base resilience.
Pappalardo explains that Materne plans to expand the use of Arkestro’s PPO across more spend categories, broadening the overall addressable spend the company can reach.
This strategic move aligns with Materne’s goal of maximising growth opportunities while maintaining a competitive edge.
Predictive procurement orchestration explained
Arkestro’s PPO serves as a tool to enhance a company’s procurement processes.
By employing AI models that analyse market data and a company’s historical purchases, PPO suggests acceptance parameters, bolstering negotiating leverage for procurement teams.
The approach leverages elements of game theory to incentivise suppliers, promoting competitive offers and establishing trust and transparency through dynamic feedback.
The net result is an expedited negotiation process, enabling Materne’s procurement team to engage with more suppliers efficiently.
