Optimal Sourcing

Make Your Supply Base a Competitive Advantage

APD leverages deep supply base expertise and commodity knowledge to help companies establish supply strategies based on best sourcing practices and align with suppliers with competitive costs, superior technology, established quality, and reliable capacity.  

Hear what clients say about Optimal Sourcing 

One of the most important aspects of APD’s innovative Optimal Sourcing process is a thorough knowledge of capable suppliers for a given commodity.  Our commodity experts leverage knowledge of a variety of supplier types to gain insights into supply markets and pricing:

  • Domestic manufacturers
  • Mexican manufactures
  • Global manufacturers
  • Distributors
  • Suppliers of recycled materials
  • New capacity coming online

APD has an extensive network of experts covering every important manufacturing commodity.  Examples of commodities addressed in recent projects include:

  • Aluminum extrusions, castings, and forgings
  • Coiled steel and aluminum
  • Freight (domestic)
  • Machined parts
  • MRO & indirect materials
  • Plastic injection moldings
  • Resins
  • Steel castings, stampings, and fabrications

Contact us to learn more about how APD can help you implement best sourcing practices and identify competitive suppliers.

Case Study 1

A $30M supplier of injection molded components for the automotive industry had aggressive growth plans and realized that resins sourcing could be a competitive advantage for gaining new business. Within 12 weeks of engaging APD, they implemented over $325k/year savings on their controllable resins spend.  Just as importantly, APD introduced them to capable new suppliers that better positioned them for future programs.

Case Study 2

A $2B+ tier 1 automotive supplier was unhappy with the performance of its 3rd party MRO provider and engaged APD to conduct a two-phase project to prepare their team to handle MRO purchasing.  First, APD identified critical details for over 13,000 items and organized them into 14 categories.  Next, APD conducted a two-round market test to identify competitively priced suppliers and recommended substitute items.  This resulted in over $2M in identified savings on a spend of just under $25M, split nearly evenly between direct cost reductions (same parts) and easy-to-implement substitutes.  Of the 16 suppliers recommended, 14 were current suppliers and two were new to the company.