Supply Clusters
A case study in winning business the Rubicor way
Founded in 1995, Supply Clusters has over 140 active members, many of whom are among the top 500 companies in Australia. Supply Clusters aggregates volumes of commonly purchased items and services for member companies Australia wide. Members then purchase directly from suppliers utilising the aggregated tendered contracts.
Aggregating and tendering members’ requirements saves members time and money. As members of Supply Clusters, users benefit from increased purchasing power and have access to a network that shares intelligence, process improvements and cost reduction strategies delivering significant bottom-line benefits.
Supply Clusters’ value proposition is to provide members outstanding
value through:
- Procurement cost savings
- Access to more than 60 aggregated expense categories
- Ability to benchmark existing supplier rates against their negotiated supply rates
In 2009, Supply Clusters’ members purchased more than $110 millionfrom Supply Clusters’ preferred suppliers.
The Challenge
Given the wide variety of industry sectors, geographies and companies that comprise Supply Clusters’ client base, it has been challenging to appoint a single, national recruitment partner who could meet diverse recruitment needs. Additionally, the varied and complex delivery model needs to be achieved with consolidated pricing and a single point of accountability for commercial ownership.
Supply Clusters has previously engaged large, national homogenous suppliers who have been unable to service its needs effectively. However as awarding the contract to multiple suppliers does not provide the single account management requirement, Supply Clusters again sought a solution through a large national supplier but one who could demonstrate the quality and expertise of specialist boutique recruitment providers. This would ensure deep candidate pools and quality specialist service that had been lacking previously.
The Solution
Rubicor’s model of specialist boutique operating companies meant we were uniquely positioned to provide a solution that would meet the needs of Supply Clusters and its member companies. A virtual national account delivery team has been created to provide a comprehensive solution covering the full range of blue collar and white collar recruitment, through to executive search and retained assignments.
Rubicor’s Operations Manager – Client Optimisation – oversees the partnership and works closely with Supply Clusters. Rubicor’s national delivery team works closely and co‑operatively with local Supply Clusters’ representatives to understand member needs.
The Outcome
Supply Clusters achieves its objective in offering one solution that provides financial and quality benefits to its members. Supply Clusters’ members now benefit from effective and consistent national recruitment delivered by specialist providers under the single company banner of Rubicor. Being able to offer deep talent pools and specialist market knowledge provides significant benefits.
Visit the Supply Clusters website >
