A large US retail company engaged TC2 to review network spend across seven key suppliers with the goal of improving supplier invoice accuracy and identifying savings. The review quickly showed that the opportunity was broader than supplier negotiations alone. The client had recoverable savings in the current environment, but it also had operating issues that made cost control harder to sustain over time.

Some issues were visible in the supplier landscape itself, including inactive services, spend tied to closed locations, and supplier rates that had drifted out of market. Others pointed back to the operating environment: inconsistent inventory reviews, incomplete information flowing to the TEM provider, and a need for tighter control around how credits, contracts, and service changes were managed.

TC2 addressed the engagement as both a savings program and a control-improvement effort. We supported inventory alignment work to disconnect services no longer in use and to clean up services at locations that were no longer open. In parallel, we led targeted incumbent negotiations backed by TC2 benchmarking to bring pricing closer to market and convert those findings into meaningful supplier concessions.

Just as important, we used the project findings to identify what would need to change operationally for the results to hold. That included recommending regular inventory reviews between the TEM provider and IT, more disciplined sharing of site lists and contract documents, closer finance oversight of supplier credit application, and planning ahead for both future TEM negotiations and another focused TC2 Cost Compliance and Optimization review. The result was a stronger spending position in the near term and a clearer path to keeping the environment in shape going forward.