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The Solution
Mars switched to Keelvar. By adopting Keelvar’s Sourcing Optimizer and Autonomous Sourcing solutions, Mars enabled its teams to quickly create complex sourcing events, automate repetitive tasks, and scale best practices across the organization. With a user-friendly platform, Keelvar empowered Mars to move away from manual processes and improve both data visibility and decision-making. Automation further freed up valuable time, allowing teams to focus on more strategic, value-added activities.
The Results
- Quick rollout: Mars planned to run about 75 events in their first year with Keelvar but ended up running more than double that – over 150. Around 300 people are now set up to use the tool.
- Efficiency: 90% reduction in the time to build complex RFPs for European road freight. Across all events, the average time to reach the bidding stage dropped by 25% (from 4.4 days to 3.1 days).
- Cost Savings: In the last 12 months, Mars managed $1.61 billion in spend through Keelvar, achieving an average 4% savings across multi-round, awarded events. This included $12.4 million in price compression and an estimated $32 million in savings across 25 major events.
- Supplier Engagement: Mars achieved 70% bidder participation across large events (>$1M spend).
The Benefits
- Maximized ROI: Significant savings and process efficiencies drove strong ROI, with Mars outperforming industry peers in manual e-sourcing and realizing exponential gains through automation.
- Time Savings: Automation and streamlined workflows cut event cycle times by up to 75% for spot and tail events, freeing up resources for more strategic work.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Real-time data and scenario modeling enabled better supplier competition, optimized spend, and more informed decisions.
- Scalable & Future-Proof: Adoption success allowed Mars to expand Keelvar use across logistics, packaging, direct/indirect materials, and more – creating a single source of truth for sourcing and spend management.
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