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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. And a supplier panel reopened in less than a year, across the whole fruit portfolio.
~€15,000
saved in less than a year of use - including €6,400 on a single wild blueberry RFQ.
The client at a glance
Client
Les Confituriers du Vieux Chérier - Artisan jam maker
Sector
Fruit processing (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
Commodities
Blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, mirabelle plum, elderberry, quince, lemon
Client since
Less than a year / 15 RFQs launched
User
Purchasing department
01
-
The context
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 tools, no overall view.
Limited market visibility
No consolidated view of prevailing prices or of the suppliers actually available, and as many markets to cover as there are fruits processed: 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.
Manual comparison of offers
A comparison table rebuilt for every RFQ, time-consuming and error-prone.
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.
02
-
The solution
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.
15
RFQs launched, across eight fruit families
5
new suppliers identified
1
single tool replacing Excel + ERP + e-mail
Three combined uses
Centralized sourcing
Supplier search, RFQs and follow-up in a single tool, replacing the triple Excel / ERP / e-mail workflow.
Wider RFQs
Consulting a far wider panel than the usual 2 to 3 suppliers, on blueberry as much as on strawberry, raspberry or quince.
Automated comparison
Incoming quotes are compared directly in the platform, with no manual re-entry into a spreadsheet.
03
-
The results
Four concrete, measurable results
Result #1
€6,400
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
~€8,000
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
5 new
A panel beyond the circle of historical suppliers
Five 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
Paid off on RFQ #1
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.
The savings in detail
Product line
Before
After
Saving
Product line
Wild blueberry
Before
€8.45/kg
After
€8.25/kg
Saving
€6,400 on 32 tonnes
Product line
Cultivated blueberry
Before
RFQ under way
After
RFQ under way
Saving
~€8,000 estimated
Cumulated total
~€15,000
04
-
The supplier panel
Five 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
2 to 3 suppliers contacted per product line
A panel widened fruit by fruit: 5 new suppliers identified
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
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
3 takeaways for food industry buyers
01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
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