Industry:
Global manufacturer and supplier of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry
Expense Category:
Uniform Rental ServicesClient Challenge:
At the onset of the Fine Tune engagement, a national agreement with a leading uniform supplier was nearing its expiration—but substantial back-end liabilities loomed as a hindrance to acting on open-market opportunities. They liked their supplier and wanted to avoid a transition, but certain billing practices and field-level service issues needed to be addressed before a new agreement could be struck.
Fine Tune Solution:
The goal was to renew the agreement with the incumbent, implement more favorable terms and recover as much of the excess billing as possible. The next steps were to analyze the spend data vs. the contract and setup site visits to determine the validity of potential overcharges not contemplated in the agreement. After reviewing the results of the initial steps with the key contacts, a strategy was set to run an RFP in conjunction with directly negotiating with the incumbent.
Outcome:
An agreement was struck with the incumbent supplier, so TMK IPSCO field contacts were able to retain the supplier they were comfortable with and avoid a transition. There was a significant shift in the contract terms to protect them from future recurring billing issues, product additions/changes and pricing variances. Additionally, substantial credits were recouped for past billing discrepancies. To top it off, a coordinated effort by all parties was made to upgrade the existing uniform image.
