Global Supply Chain Optimization: $10M Annual Savings

Built a global sourcing and supply chain optimization model for a US-based food company that was facing unsustainably high ingredient procurement costs. The company was sourcing gherkins from India, Honduras, and domestically in the US, and glassware from Turkey. The engagement delivered $10 million in annual cost savings.

The client's existing supply chain had grown organically over years without systematic optimization. Sourcing decisions across four countries were made independently, creating redundancies in logistics, inconsistent supplier negotiations, and missed opportunities for volume consolidation. The cost structure had become a drag on margins.

Supply Chain Mapping — Mapped the complete end-to-end supply chain across all four sourcing countries (India, Honduras, Turkey, US), including supplier networks, logistics routes, tariff structures, quality control checkpoints, and lead times.

Cost Analysis — Conducted granular cost breakdowns for each sourcing origin, identifying where the highest cost leakages were occurring: raw material pricing, freight and logistics, duties and tariffs, warehousing, and quality rejection rates.

Sourcing Strategy Redesign — Developed an optimized sourcing model that rebalanced procurement volumes across origins based on total landed cost (not just unit price), quality consistency, supply reliability, and geopolitical risk. Recommended supplier consolidation where appropriate and diversification where single-source risk was too high.

Implementation Roadmap — Delivered a phased implementation plan with specific milestones, projected savings by quarter, and risk mitigation strategies for the transition period.

The optimized sourcing model delivered $10 million in annual cost savings through a combination of supplier renegotiation, logistics route optimization, volume consolidation, and strategic rebalancing of procurement across origins.

Cross-border supply chain optimization requires someone who understands both the quantitative modeling and the on-the-ground realities of sourcing from developing markets. Two decades of working across India's agricultural and forestry sectors provided direct knowledge of supplier ecosystems, logistics infrastructure, and trade dynamics that no spreadsheet model alone could capture.