Cost Savings Agent
Runs supplier reduction campaigns when commodity prices fall below threshold.
Monitors commodity prices against configured thresholds and initiates supplier reduction campaigns when a price movement is detected. The agent calculates the justified reduction per supplier, drafts and sends negotiation emails, handles responses, and updates ERP pricing on accepted terms.
- 0.5–2%
Cost saved
Of the spend the agent sees, prices drop by 0.5–2% in real terms — cash back to the bottom line.
Monitors commodity price movements
Polls configured commodity indices and triggers a campaign run when a tracked material crosses a defined price threshold.
Maps price drops to affected suppliers
Identifies which suppliers are exposed to the moved commodity using material-to-supplier mappings, then calculates a justified reduction amount and projected savings for each.
Drafts and sends reduction request emails
Writes data-cited outreach emails per supplier and either sends autonomously for tail-spend contracts or routes to a human approver for strategic accounts.
Manages supplier back-and-forth
Handles replies within the negotiation thread, tracks acceptance or rejection, and escalates non-responding strategic suppliers to the strategic negotiation agent.
Updates ERP pricing and supplier records
Writes accepted price reductions back to ERP contract records and logs outcomes to supplier profiles for use as reference points in future negotiation rounds.
- Trigger
Commodity price crosses configured threshold
A monitored commodity index (such as S&P Global Commodity Insights or Bloomberg Commodity) records a price movement that breaches the threshold set for a tracked material in the agent's configuration, initiating a campaign run.
- Step 1
Builds the supplier exposure and per-supplier reduction schedule
The agent queries material-to-supplier mappings in the ERP to identify which suppliers hold active contracts tied to the moved commodity. For each exposed supplier, it reads the current contracted price from ERP records and computes a justified reduction amount using the size of the commodity movement and current market data. The output is a ranked list of suppliers, each with a target reduction figure and a projected savings value, which drives the outreach step.
- Step 2
Drafts and dispatches reduction request emails by account tier
The agent writes one outreach email per supplier, citing the specific commodity index, the recorded price movement, and the calculated reduction figure for that supplier's contracts. Tail-spend supplier emails are dispatched autonomously through the corporate email system (Microsoft Exchange or Google Workspace). Strategic account emails are placed in a review queue and held until a buyer approves each message before dispatch.
- Step 3
Manages the negotiation thread and settles each supplier position
The agent monitors inbound replies in each negotiation thread, logs whether the supplier accepts or rejects the proposed reduction, and sends follow-up messages within the campaign window where no response has been received. For strategic suppliers who do not respond within the campaign window, the agent hands the case to the strategic negotiation agent, passing the supplier record, the open reduction request, and the correspondence history.
- Resolution
Contracted prices updated, outcomes recorded
Accepted reductions are written back to contract and purchase order records in the ERP, so that future spend runs at the negotiated price without a separate data-entry step. Negotiation outcomes, including the reduction achieved and any rejections, are recorded in each supplier's profile for reference in future rounds.
Price drops converted to savings without delay
so that procurement captures margin when commodity windows open, instead of losing the opportunity while campaigns are manually assembled and routed.
Buyer time shifts to strategic negotiation
so that procurement staff focus on high-value supplier relationships rather than drafting, sending, and chasing tail-spend reduction emails.
Accepted reductions written back to ERP immediately
so that contracted prices reflect current market rates and future spend runs at the negotiated cost without a separate data-entry step.
- Live commodity price feed
- Connects to a commodity data provider (e.g. S&P Global Commodity Insights or Bloomberg Commodity) to monitor prices against configured thresholds. Without this feed the agent cannot detect price movements or calculate the justified reduction per supplier.
- Supplier and material master data
- Reads supplier-to-material mappings, open purchase orders, and current contracted prices from the ERP (e.g. Infor LN/M3/CloudSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, IFS Cloud, or SAP S/4HANA). Also writes accepted price reductions back to contract and purchase order records and updates supplier profiles with negotiation outcomes. Without this access the agent cannot identify which suppliers are exposed to a price movement or post agreed savings.
- Outbound and inbound email access
- Uses the corporate email system (e.g. Microsoft Exchange or Google Workspace) to send campaign emails to suppliers, receive replies, and manage the negotiation thread. Tail-spend emails are sent autonomously. Strategic emails are queued for human approval before dispatch. Without this the agent cannot initiate or track the supplier communication loop.