MRO Procurement & Vendor Consolidation Study
Understand how plant maintenance, procurement, and operations teams evaluate suppliers, compare service models, and weigh consolidation trade-offs, so you can sharpen vendor positioning, structure commercial offers, and improve account retention across industrial buying cycles.
CONTEXT & RELEVANCE
Why run this survey now
Most industrial procurement teams don't lose value purely on price. They underperform due to fragmented demand, inconsistent specifications, opaque service quality, weak supplier governance, and emergency buying, none of which show up in spend cubes or ERP reports.
If you are...
- MRO Category Managers
- Plant Maintenance Heads
- Operations Excellence Leaders
- Finance Control Sponsors
- Supply Chain Directors
You're likely facing...
- High supplier counts create avoidable transaction costs across plants
- Local buying preferences cause inconsistent vendor performance across sites
- Emergency sourcing drives price leakage despite negotiated contracts
- Limited service visibility creates unmanaged uptime risk for operations
- Consolidation targets threaten specialist supplier coverage and user confidence
This will help answer...
- Optimal supplier portfolio design
- Category consolidation priorities
- Service level pain points
- Contract compliance barriers
- Plant-specific sourcing exceptions
RESEARCH THEMES
What This Survey Investigates
Eight interconnected research themes that map the complete MRO procurement journey from demand creation to vendor consolidation.
Demand & Spend
- Category spend visibility
- Planned versus emergency demand
Buying Process
- Requisition approval pathways
- Tender versus spot buying
Supplier Selection
- Qualification criteria hierarchy
- Incumbent challenger dynamics
Service & Reliability
- Delivery consistency expectations
- Breakdown support responsiveness
Pricing & Contracts
- Total cost comparisons
- Contract compliance leakage
Consolidation Appetite
- Preferred supplier rationalisation
- Category concentration thresholds
Governance & Compliance
- Approved vendor discipline
- Cross-plant policy adherence
Future & Partnerships
- Digital procurement readiness
- Strategic supplier collaboration
SAMPLING STRATEGY
Tell us about your ideal sample
Help us understand your target respondent profile. Select what applies, we'll design the optimal sample plan based on your inputs.
METHODOLOGY
Survey approach
For MRO Procurement & Vendor Consolidation Study, we recommend a quant-led cross-functional approach with flexible data-collection modes to balance reach, depth, and verification across plants, categories, and supplier tiers.
EXECUTION PROCESS
How we execute
A proven 9-step process from scoping to delivery, designed to ensure quality, speed, and actionable insights.
Define the decision frame
Confirm objectives, target cohorts, geographies, and reporting cuts
Define the decision frame
Design the instrument
Build workstream modules mapped to outputs (drivers, friction, pricing, retention, trust)
Design the instrument
Lock the questionnaire
Review wording, sequencing, LOI, and competitive context; approve final version
Lock the questionnaire
Pilot and calibrate
Test comprehension and ease quality; refine quotas and remove friction where needed
Pilot and calibrate
Run fieldwork
Execute collection with active quota management and feasibility controls
Run fieldwork
Assure quality
Dedupe, attention checks, speed/consistency rules, removals with audit trail
Assure quality
Prepare the dataset
Clean data and deliver codebook/variable definitions
Prepare the dataset
Analyse and synthesise
Driver ranking, leakage diagnostics, pricing bands, segment insights
Analyse and synthesise
Deliver and align
Executive deck (optional dashboard) and leadership readout with recommendations
Deliver and align
COMMERCIAL TERMS
Request a Commercial Proposal
Pricing depends on cohort, geography, sample size, approach, LOI, and deliverables. Configure below for an indicative estimate.
Select Sample Size
Geography
Select Mode of Survey
Length of the Interview
$0.00
+ applicable taxes
Cost Breakdown
Note: Estimate is indicative only. Final pricing is subject to scope finalization after discovery call.
REFERENCE CASELETS
Reference
Real-world examples of survey work in the industrial procurement and maintenance space.
Industrial Consumables Distributor Service Proposition Buyer Study (Pan-India)
OBJECTIVE
WHAT WE DID
DELIVERED
Industrial Consumables Distributor Service Proposition Buyer Study (Pan-India)
Critical Industrial Spares Service Bundle Design Study (India)
Industrial Consumables Distributor Service Proposition Buyer Study (Pan-India)
OBJECTIVE
A pan-India distributor wanted to understand how maintenance managers , stores teams , and procurement leads chose between national distributors , regional specialists , and direct manufacturers for routine industrial consumables and urgent replenishment.
WHAT WE DID
We ran a quantitative survey across six manufacturing clusters, stratifying 420 respondents by plant scale , category responsibility , and purchase frequency , while capturing selection drivers , service expectations , switching triggers, and channel usage.
DELIVERED
The engagement produced a distributor preference map , service friction list , message territories , and channel levers , with segment-level comparisons showing which commercial promises mattered most for planned purchases, urgent orders, and technically complex categories.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common Questions
Answers to frequently asked questions about this survey mandate.
What decisions will this survey enable?
Who is the buyer vs who are the respondents?
Can we see differences between central procurement, plant buyers and maintenance users?
How will you measure MRO vendor preference beyond simple ratings?
Will the survey map the full MRO procurement journey and drop-offs?
Can this survey inform product and pricing strategy?
How will findings improve our vendor consolidation strategy?
Still have questions?
Schedule a discovery call to discuss your specific needs and get a custom quote.