The Aim

Sunstar Europe manufactures and distributes oral care products. The company produces toothpastes, mouthwashes, antiseptics and teeth whitening systems. Sunstar Suisse sells its products in pharmacies and dental clinics all over the world.

Solinda is a buyer on the procurement team. She and her team are in charge of sourcing and purchasing raw materials for the company's products. The team ensure a consistent supply of high-quality commodities, plan the purchase of raw materials and inputs to support production needs and product demand. Their primary goal is to maintain supply stability at the lowest possible cost.

The challenge

When sourcing raw materials from suppliers, negotiating prices, and budgeting for the future, procurement teams can face a number of challenges if they do not have accurate and transparent data on prices and market trends.

Procurement teams struggle to negotiate prices with suppliers when they lack certainty on prices and market trends. They may be unaware of the fair market value of the raw materials they require, putting them at a disadvantage when bargaining with suppliers. For effective planning and budgeting, accurate and transparent data on prices and market trends is required.

The role and data and analytics

Through ICIS Insight, Solinda and her team gained an in-depth understanding of current trends and events in multiple commodity markets that were important to them. They were able to access the most recent price assessments, global and regional news, supply, demand, and disruption coverage, as well as commentary from ICIS experts.

All this was able to strengthen their strategic positions in negotiations.

The outcome

The ability to negotiate better prices with suppliers was one of the most significant advantages of having access to this data. Solinda and her team were able to negotiate better deals with suppliers after gaining a thorough understanding of market trends and accurate pricing information, resulting in significant cost savings for their company.

Recently, Solinda was able to support her negotiation with accurate figures, resulting in a 5% cost reduction from the purchase price.

Testimonial