PolyOne Corporation is a
premier provider of specialized polymer
materials, services and solutions. The
company has three main lines of business –
distribution of thermoplastic resins and
compounds, manufacturing performance
products such as vinyl and a specialty
business that offers value-added solutions
for compounding plastics. Headquartered
outside of Cleveland, Ohio, PolyOne has
operations around the world, including more
than 30 manufacturing facilities in 20
countries.
PolyOne
was one of the early adopters of Corporate
United in the office supply category. Since
that time they have expanded their
involvement across several categories and
continue to evaluate other areas of
opportunity. Currently, PolyOne is planning
to implement a national agreement with
VANTAGE GROUP to fulfill their electrical
supply needs.
Thomas Kedrowski is
PolyOne’s senior vice president of supply
chain and operations. Throughout his career,
Mr. Kedrowski has mutually served in both
commercial and operations roles. As such, he
is well-positioned to lead PolyOne’s
operations in process improvement and
business innovation. His responsibilities
include manufacturing, product distribution,
warehousing, raw materials procurement, EHS
(environment, health and safety) stewardship
and overall process improvement through Lean
Six Sigma.
According to Mr. Kedrowski,
PolyOne channels between $13 and $15 million
through Corporate United contracts annually,
with the Medco (pharmacy benefits
management) and Manpower (staffing and
workforce solutions) agreements representing
the largest portion of that spend.
PolyOne is quick to involve
other business departments when they feel it
is necessary in defining the company’s
requirements to help determine the value of
the agreement. The company’s human resources
department has become very familiar with
Corporate United’s offerings; among other
projects, the group teamed with the
purchasing department to make the
Medco/Corporate United decision.
For categories with a small
amount of spend, such as office supplies and
conferencing services, PolyOne depends on
Corporate United’s leverage and services to
ensure the company achieves the utmost
value. "Corporate United provides a very
valuable service. Their business model saves
companies from going through the hard work
of creating contract infrastructure for
every category," explains Mr. Kedrowski.
Says Mr. Kedrowski of the
value Corporate United brings, "PolyOne is a
small to mid-size firm in the chemical
world, so the leverage Corporate United
provides in the spaces where we do not have
very much spend is helpful. That leverage
allows us to obtain fair pricing in an area
where we would not be able achieve it by
ourselves." PolyOne also greatly values the
expertise and market awareness that
Corporate United has to offer. "Their
knowledge allows us to stay up to date on
the markets we do not have the resources to
monitor, enabling us to make informed
decisions."
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