Toyota

Toyota drives procurement savings by using MarketingUnity.

Toyota GB (TGB) generated savings of over £130,000 within 21 months of switching to MarketingUnity’s Procurement Manager software.

TGB runs all sales, marketing, after-sales and customer relations functions for Toyota and Lexus in the UK. It employs around 300 people.

It implemented MarketingUnity’s web-based solution in 2014, initially to replace a Microsoft Access-based print procurement system. Since then, the MarketingUnity system has logged savings of £130,000 on a system-captured print spend of £1.1 million.

“MarketingUnity paid for itself in under a year,” confirms Toyota Purchasing Services Manager, Howard Miles. “The system could also manage the bidding process for other procurement categories , so we will explore this going forward and would expect our return on investment to grow over time.”

TGB’s print needs include stationery, brochures, leaflets, forms, point of sale materials and direct mail. It also has specialist print requirements, such as envelopes, plastic cards, labels and security items.

Procurement Manager – one of seven modules in the MarketingUnity suite – offers companies transparency and control over such complex print-buying needs as these. This brings cost and time savings, as well as reducing the delays and risks that often dog large-scale print production.

“If you want transparency in your print management, if you need to capture detailed print specs – and easily compare supplier responses on those specs – then MarketingUnity is the way to go,” says Miles, who oversees TGB’s annual procurement spend of c.£150m.

TGB’s Print Buyer, Weldon Molony, meanwhile, has praise both for Procurement Manager and MarketingUnity.

“Procurement Manager was easy to roll out, and one of its main strengths is the clear audit trail it draws. Also, Marketingunity as a company is very supportive – always helpful and willing to listen. This is important, because the software has to cater for some complex purchasing models.”