Case Study: $12M Saved on a $92M Packaging & Raw Materials Spend

A Fortune 500 consumer products company was spending $92M annually on folding cartons and paperboard. Board Pricing was set by Tier 1 converters with no visibility into the underlying paper cost — the largest single driver of what they paid.

What we did

With a comprehensive bid across both tiers of the supply chain: Tier 1 carton converters and, critically, the Tier 2 paper mills upstream. By negotiating board pricing directly with the mills and directing those material costs to the Tier 1 manufacturers, we gave the client cost transparency they had never had in the category.

The results

$12M in savings — 13% of category spend — on identical specifications, with incumbent relationships preserved where they earned it. The client now owns a cost model for the category, so every future negotiation starts from facts instead of a supplier's opening position.

What it means for you

Packaging and raw materials are where overpayment hides in plain sight, because Tier 2 costs are invisible to most buyers. If you buy cartons, corrugate, plastics, glass, or labels at scale, we'll benchmark one category free under NDA. Visit www.atlasprocurementsolution.us/contact to start.