Unlocking Portfolio-Wide Value Through a 2-week Procurement Diagnostic
Scope
Industry
A private equity fund managing a diversified portfolio of companies with over CHF 173 million in indirect spend engaged Optima Smart Procurement to rapidly assess untapped value. Within just two weeks, our OPTIMA Executive Spend & Risk Intelligence™ provided unprecedented visibility, quantified savings potential, and redefined how procurement could contribute to EBITDA growth at portfolio level.
Business Challenge
The fund faced structural limitations preventing effective cost optimisation and value creation:
- Fragmented procurement practices across multiple portfolio companies
- Indirect spend exceeding CHF 173 million with no consolidated oversight
- Low transparency on supplier base, contract terms, and category strategies
- Missed opportunities for volume leverage and cross-entity synergies
- Procurement perceived as transactional rather than strategic
- Increasing investor pressure to identify fast, tangible P&L improvements
Approach
A rigorous four-phase diagnostic was executed over an accelerated two-week timeline, combining deep analytics with executive-level engagement:
- Phase 1 – Data Collection (Days 1–4)
- Aggregation of spend data covering ~85–90% of total indirect spend
- Collection of contracts, supplier lists, and purchasing policies
- Stakeholder identification across all portfolio entities
- Phase 2 – Data Validation and Structuring (Days 3–7)
- Cleansing and consolidation of multi-entity data into a unified taxonomy
- Categorisation of spend into key areas (e.g. IT, Marketing, Facilities, Professional Services)
- Creation of a robust “as-is” baseline with spend visibility by supplier and category
- Phase 3 – Opportunity Identification (Days 6–10)
- Benchmarking against best-in-class procurement organisations
- Identification of 12 priority savings levers, including:
- Supplier consolidation
- Contract renegotiation
- Demand management
- Specification optimisation
- Quantification of savings potential (between 8–15% across targeted categories)
- Phase 4 – Recommendations and Roadmap (Days 9–14)
- Development of a prioritised implementation roadmap
- Definition of governance model across portfolio companies
- Identification of quick wins vs. mid-term transformation initiatives
Outcomes
The diagnostic delivered both immediate insight and a step-change in strategic direction:
- Full visibility on >85% of indirect spend within two weeks
- Identification of significant savings potential, with clear, actionable initiatives
- Rapid alignment of top management around a portfolio-wide procurement strategy
- Shift in perception: procurement repositioned as a core value creation lever
- Foundation established for scalable, cross-portfolio synergies and future transformation
This engagement demonstrated how speed, structure, and strategic insight can unlock substantial financial value, turning procurement into a decisive driver of performance for private equity investors.
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