Packaging & Primary Materials

One of the Largest and Most Critical Cost Levers in Consumer Goods

Packaging — glass, corrugate, labels, flexible film — typically represents 15–30% of COGS for consumer goods companies. Most organizations go out to bid periodically, but few use the advanced sourcing tools that actually drive pricing to its floor.

The gap between a standard RFP process and best-in-class competitive sourcing is where the real savings live. Combined with specification optimization (lightweighting, material substitution, design-to-value) and volume consolidation across fragmented SKU portfolios, the opportunity is significant.

Upside Sourcing brings these tools to bear across the full packaging portfolio and gets paid only when savings are verified.

Sub-Categories

  • Glass

  • Corrugate

  • Labels

  • Cans

  • Flexible Films

  • Caps & Closures

Typical Savings Range

  • 15-30% of category spend

Proven Results

  • 20-30% cost reduction annualized across packaging categories for improved margins

  • 20%+ weight reduction to improve sustainability, reduce CO2 emissions, and reduced EPR and PPWR fees

Raw Materials & Contract Manufacturing

Where the Largest Cost Gaps on the P&L Go Unaddressed

While packaging is often the most visible cost category, raw materials and contract manufacturing typically carry even greater spend — and even less competitive tension. Supplier relationships in these categories tend to run deep and long, which is exactly why pricing drifts above market over time.

Most organizations treat these as stable, locked-in costs. They run periodic bids, but rarely with the rigor or tools needed to surface what the market will actually bear. The result is a significant and persistent gap between current spend and optimal cost.

A 1–3% improvement on a $100M COGS base is $1–3M straight to the bottom line — realized through better sourcing.

Typical Savings Range

  • 10–20% of category spend

Proven Results

  • 3-10%+ gross margin improvement

  • Suppliers to help deliver breakthrough innovation growth and sustainability improvement

Sub-Categories

  • Raw Materials

  • Contract Manufacturing

  • Co-Packing

Indirect & Enterprise Spend

High-Volume, Low-Visibility Categories Where Cost Accumulates Fast

Indirect spend — MRO, logistics, energy, professional services, facilities, marketing production, IT — often accounts for 20–40% of total company spend, yet receives a fraction of the procurement attention that direct categories do. Contracts go uncontested for years. Maverick spending accumulates. Supplier relationships drift into single-source arrangements with no competitive pressure.

Most organizations know the problem exists. Few have the tools or the bandwidth to do anything about it. That gap — between acknowledged opportunity and realized savings — is exactly where Upside Sourcing operates.

Upside Sourcing identifies the highest-value indirect categories, prioritizes by savings potential, and executes — on a pure gain share basis.

Typical Savings Range

  • 15–30% of category spend

Proven Results

  • 25-30% cost reduction across indirect/G&A spend

Sub-Categories

  • Logistics & Freight

  • Energy/Electricity

  • MRO

  • Professional Services

  • Marketing

  • Facilities

  • IT