Overview

Built for the Platforms That Build the World

Agriculture and construction OEMs run some of the most complex direct-material supply chains in manufacturing — castings, hydraulics, drivetrain, electrical, and filtration, sourced globally across thousands of suppliers. Tenet brings the spend analytics, category strategy, and execution discipline to turn that complexity into realized, sustainable savings.

Focus: Global Spend Analytics & Strategic Sourcing
Results Snapshot — Global Agriculture & Construction OEM

A multi-year, multi-wave supply chain transformation across $1.5B of addressable spend

Tenet sourced five categories spanning more than 1,500 incumbent suppliers — defining the sourcing strategy for each category, compiling an Approved Supplier List, and quantifying the price and non-price benefits of execution.

13%
Total Annualized Savings
Across the OEM platform
30%+
Supply Base Reduction
Supplier rationalization
40%
Annual Spend Transitioned
To new suppliers

Source: Tenet Consulting client engagement — Leading Agriculture & Construction Manufacturer (2025)

Five Categories. One $1.5B Mandate.

A large global Agriculture and Construction OEM engaged Tenet to source $1.5B of total addressable spend across five direct-material categories. With over 1,500 incumbent suppliers in scope, the objectives were clear: define a sourcing strategy for each category and sub-category, compile an Approved Supplier List, and articulate the cost savings and non-price benefits of executing that strategy. Explore the sourcing results by part group below.

Cast & Machine

Raw and machined castings — high-spend, capacity-constrained, and tariff-exposed.

View Case Study

Fluid Conveyance & Hydraulic Cylinders

Hoses, fittings, and cylinders central to equipment performance and uptime.

View Case Study

Gearboxes, Cardans & Friction Materials

Drivetrain components requiring deep supplier capability and quality validation.

View Case Study

Wire Harnesses & Sensors

Electrical and electronic content where part-family clarity unlocks future sourcing leverage.

View Case Study

Plastics & Filtration

Molded components and filtration systems balancing cost, quality, and supply continuity.

View Case Study

The Challenge: Post-Pandemic Cost and Supply Pressure

The client faced two compounding challenges in their post-pandemic supply chain: increased costs and constrained supply. Purchasing had been focused on securing part supply through multi-sourcing — which reduced volume leverage and proliferated the supply base. Worse, the organization believed its supply base had no available capacity and no appetite for additional business or volume.

Volume Leverage

Multi-sourcing diluted scale

Spreading volume across too many suppliers to secure supply eroded the negotiating leverage that scale should create.

Supplier Proliferation

1,500+ incumbents in scope

A sprawling supply base added cost, complexity, and quality risk across every category.

Perceived Capacity

"No capacity, no interest"

The internal belief that suppliers had no room to compete went untested — leaving real opportunity on the table.

Cost Inflation

Rising input costs

Material and tariff-driven inflation pressured margins faster than legacy sourcing cycles could respond.

The fix: test every assumption against the market. Part-family definition and a fact-based strategy reopened competition the organization assumed was closed.

The Approach: Tenet's Proven 7-Step Process

Working alongside the client's category transformation teams, Tenet guided the organization through its 7-step sourcing process — reinforced with both classroom and hands-on training throughout execution. Tenet also led the creation of a data management system that enabled the process and became the new standard for how the purchasing organization works.

Process
Seven Steps. One Outcome: Realized Value.
Each step is structured to eliminate guesswork, elevate supplier competition, and deliver measurable value that hits the P&L. Click any step to explore.
Research
RFP Dev
Conference
Analysis
Site Visits
Negotiate
Selection
Step 1 of 7
Supplier Research
Deep market research to build a qualified supplier database across geographies, capabilities, and cost structures — for castings, hydraulics, drivetrain, electrical, and filtration.
We map the full supply landscape so you negotiate from a position of knowledge, not habit.
Step 2 of 7
RFP Development
Tailored RFI/RFQ packages designed for transparent cost modeling and apples-to-apples comparison across every part family.
Structured to surface true total cost of ownership — not just unit price.
Step 3 of 7
Supplier Conference
Executive briefings that position your company as a customer worth competing for — raising supplier engagement and effort, even where capacity was assumed to be closed.
Setting the stage for suppliers to bring their best proposal, not their standard one.
Step 4 of 7
RFP Analysis
Structured scoring and savings analysis across all proposals — normalized for true comparability.
Quantitative rigor replaces gut feel. Every dollar delta is documented.
Step 5 of 7
Supplier Site Visits
On-the-ground validation of capability, quality systems, and cultural fit before any award decision.
Because a great proposal still needs proof. We verify what the data promises.
Step 6 of 7
Negotiations
Data-backed best-and-final offers on price, terms, SLAs, and risk allocation — plus non-price benefits like on-time delivery and transparent pricing models.
We negotiate with facts, not pressure. Suppliers respect it. Results prove it.
Step 7 of 7
Supplier Selection
Award decisions, contract execution, and transition planning — compiled into an Approved Supplier List with full documentation for audit and governance.
The finish line isn't a signature. It's a realized result on the P&L.
1 / 7
Realization: Tenet stays engaged through execution — building the data system, transferring capability, and tracking value until savings are realized and your team owns the new way of working.

The Results: Wave One of a Multi-Year Transformation

After executing all seven steps in the first wave of a multi-year, multi-wave supply chain transformation, Tenet and the client team delivered:

$1.5B
Total addressable spend sourced
13%
Realized annualized savings
30%+
Supply base reduction
60+
New suppliers introduced

"This became the biggest program in the company. Nothing else comes close in impact. It's a cash machine—first from cost savings, then from innovation."

— Tom Verbaeten, Chief Supply Chain Officer at CNH Industrial
Download the Case Study

About Tenet Consulting

Tenet Consulting is a Chicago-based strategic sourcing and supply chain consultancy. Over the last three decades, our team has delivered more than $1 billion in documented client savings across 20+ manufacturing industries, driving measurable value at an ROI of 6–15×. We use a proprietary 7-step sourcing process to turn complex direct-material spend into realized, sustainable results. Contact us to start a conversation.