How Vieux Chérier widened its supplier panel
- An artisan jam maker in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Sourcing scattered across Excel, the ERP and e-mail
- 2 to 3 suppliers per product line, from blueberry to quince
- A supplier panel reopened in less than a year, across the whole fruit portfolio
saved in less than a year of use.
Including €6,400 achieved on a single wild blueberry RFQ and ~€8,000 estimated on a second one in progress.
The client at a glance
Client
Artisan jam maker
Sector
Fruit processing (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
Commodities
8 fruits, from blueberry to quince
Client since
Less than a year / 15 RFQs launched
User
Purchasing department
Sourcing scattered across three tools
Les Confituriers du Vieux Chérier turn fruit into artisan jams in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
As in many workshops of that size, raw-material sourcing relied on scattered, poorly connected tools: a spreadsheet for requirements, the ERP for orders, and the inbox for everything else.
Lacking the time and the tools to widen the search, the purchasing team worked with a narrow panel of long-standing partners - and that across every fruit processed, from blueberry to strawberry, from raspberry to quince.
Before LiveQuote: four points of friction
Three disconnected tools
Excel for requirements, the internal ERP for orders, the inbox for RFQs: three separate tools, and no overall view of the sourcing.
Limited market visibility
No consolidated view of prices or available suppliers, and one market per fruit: blueberry partners are not quince or elderberry partners.
2 to 3 suppliers per product line
A ceiling set by available time and tooling, not by how relevant the panel was, and on every fruit, from blueberry to quince.
Manual comparison of offers
Offers received by e-mail, rebuilt into a spreadsheet table for every RFQ: time-consuming work and a source of errors.
The result: the buyer negotiated with the panel already at hand rather than with the market, without real leverage or any guarantee of getting the best available price.
One single tool, described as smooth and easy to pick up
The switch to LiveQuote happened without heavy training or an IT project.
The purchasing team launched its first RFQ right after the rollout, then extended the approach to the whole fruit portfolio - blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, mirabelle plum, elderberry, quince and lemon, as purées, juices and whole fruit.
The investment was judged worthwhile as soon as the first quotes came in.
Three combined uses
- 1Centralized sourcingSupplier search, RFQs and follow-up in a single tool, replacing the triple Excel / ERP / e-mail workflow.
- 2Wider RFQsConsulting a far wider panel than the usual 2 to 3 suppliers, on blueberry as much as on strawberry, raspberry or quince.
- 3Automated comparisonIncoming quotes are compared directly in the platform, with no manual re-entry into a spreadsheet.
Four concrete, measurable results
Result #1
An immediate saving on wild blueberry
On an RFQ covering 32 tonnes of wild blueberry, putting suppliers in competition through LiveQuote brought the negotiated price to €8.25/kg, against €8.45/kg previously. That is €6,400 saved on a single order.
Result #2
A second RFQ under way on cultivated blueberry
A new cultivated blueberry RFQ is being finalized, with an additional saving estimated at €8,000. Together, the two operations represent roughly €15,000 saved in less than a year of use.
Result #3
A panel beyond the circle of historical suppliers
Four new suppliers were identified thanks to better market visibility, fruit by fruit: blueberry partners are not strawberry or elderberry partners. Several are already active on current orders, the others are being onboarded.
Result #4
An investment recouped immediately
The purchasing team describes the tool as “smooth” and “easy to pick up”. No heavy training, no double data entry: the subscription paid for itself from the very first RFQs.
Four new suppliers, and meetings in the field
With better visibility on the market, the purchasing team stepped outside its narrow circle of 2 to 3 usual suppliers to consult a far wider panel - and did so fruit by fruit, since every raw material has its own supplier market.
Augusta Trading
Active supplier
Ranson
Active supplier
Authentifruit
Active supplier
Agence Gadanheugas
Being onboarded
Some suppliers travelled to meet the team in person.
Beyond the commercial contact, several suppliers identified through LiveQuote travelled to the workshop to meet the purchasing team.
That is the most tangible sign of how solid the supplier base is: not cold contacts, but partners ready to commit.
What LiveQuote changed at Les Confituriers du Vieux Chérier
Before
With LiveQuote
Sourcing scattered across Excel, the internal ERP and e-mail
One single tool centralizing search, RFQs and comparison
Sourcing scattered across Excel, the internal ERP and e-mail
One single tool centralizing search, RFQs and comparison
2 to 3 suppliers contacted per product line
A panel widened fruit by fruit: 4 new suppliers identified
2 to 3 suppliers contacted per product line
A panel widened fruit by fruit: 4 new suppliers identified
Offers compared by hand, time-consuming and error-prone
Quotes received and compared directly in the platform
Offers compared by hand, time-consuming and error-prone
Quotes received and compared directly in the platform
Limited market visibility, no consolidated view of prices
A consolidated view of prices and available suppliers, fruit by fruit
Limited market visibility, no consolidated view of prices
A consolidated view of prices and available suppliers, fruit by fruit
Little negotiating leverage against long-standing partners
Real competition: wild blueberry negotiated down to €8.25/kg
Little negotiating leverage against long-standing partners
Real competition: wild blueberry negotiated down to €8.25/kg
A tool ROI that was hard to demonstrate
~€15,000 saved in less than a year of use, including ~€8,000 estimated
A tool ROI that was hard to demonstrate
~€15,000 saved in less than a year of use, including ~€8,000 estimated
3 takeaways for food industry buyers
Widening the panel is already negotiating
Moving from 2-3 suppliers to an open panel was enough to bring wild blueberry down by €0.20/kg, i.e. €6,400 on a single 32-tonne order.
One single tool beats Excel + ERP + e-mail
Centralizing sourcing removes triple data entry and the manual comparison workload, with no heavy training and no IT project: the team launched its first RFQ right after rollout.
A supplier base is judged in the field
Several suppliers identified through LiveQuote travelled to meet the purchasing team: a supplier base proves itself in the field, not in a directory.
Want to see what LiveQuote can do for you?
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