Your company has outgrown the way procurement currently operates.
Supplier problems reach leadership too late. Inventory consumes cash while shortages continue. Buyers spend their days expediting, and no one fully trusts the spend, savings, or supplier-performance data. TRU North Partners helps manufacturers build the procurement controls, supplier accountability, and team capability needed to protect margin, working capital, and production.
Hard work is not the problem. The procurement operating model is.
These issues usually point to the same underlying cause: the business has outgrown the way procurement currently operates.
Reactive Procurement
Controlled Procurement
Turn reactive purchasing into a controlled procurement operation.
TRU North uses the CORE framework to help manufacturers establish the visibility, accountability, operating rhythm, and internal capability required to sustain improvement.
Clarity
Ownership
Rhythm
Evolution
Start with the problem. Scale the work only when the evidence supports it.
Engagements are structured in stages so leadership can evaluate the opportunity before committing to broader work.
Risk Scan
Assessment
Transformation
Fractional Leadership
Practical improvement measured in business outcomes.
TRU North's approach is grounded in manufacturing operations, procurement leadership, and measurable results — not theory alone.
Surfaced, structured, and recovered — completely.
Tariff Recovery
$250K
IEEPA Credits Recovered.
- IEEPA ruling created recoverable tariff credits
- No one knew the money existed
- Recovered with existing tools and data
A repeatable system — not a one-time cut.
Working Capital
$2.5M
Inventory Freed in One Year.
- Reactive ordering, no EOQ methodology
- $2.5M inventory reduction in 12 months
- Working capital improved, zero stockouts
From no data to real-time intelligence.
Live Implementation
Live
Procurement Dashboard.
- No real-time data, decisions were reactive
- Live dashboard built via SQL connection
- Team fully trained, zero external dependency
Results reflect prior leadership and project experience. Client outcomes vary based on scope, data quality, management participation, implementation discipline, and market conditions.
Built around your business — not a platform we need to sell.
TRU North is designed for manufacturers that need senior procurement capability without the cost, complexity, or dependency often associated with large advisory firms, software implementations, or permanent outsourcing.
Existing systems first
We begin with the people, data, ERP, spreadsheets, and tools you already own. New technology is recommended only when the business case supports it.
Founder-led accountability
Every engagement is led by Chris Fannin, supported where appropriate by specialists operating under TRU North methods and quality standards.
Implementation — not reports
TRU North helps install the operating practices, scorecards, decision rights, and management cadence required to make improvement stick — not leave another report on the shelf.
Capability transfer
Your team builds the tools, applies the process, and develops the capability required to maintain the improvement after we leave.
The goal is not to make TRU North indispensable. The goal is to make your procurement function stronger.
That work is grounded in real manufacturing environments, where procurement decisions affect production, inventory, quality, and cash flow.
Not a consultant who studied procurement.
25 years on the plant floor, at the negotiating table, and inside the data — across every size of manufacturer supply chain. Chris Fannin has built two procurement teams from scratch, and started TRU North to make that experience available without the Big 4 price tag or the software dependency.
25+
Years
$500M+
Spend Managed
Teams Led
Up to 22 People
Global
Sourcing
The Career Arc & Credentials
The $2.5M reduction and $250K recovery happened in the last 12 months — evidence I'm still doing the work, not just describing it.
Career Arc
Operations Foundation
LTL logistics pricing, early exposure to cost structures and carrier accountability.
Executive Quality
Supplier quality leadership across automotive and defense — the origin of the accountability framework.
Global Sourcing & Leadership
Rolls-Royce, Komatsu, Club Car, FN America. $500M+ in managed spend. Teams of 2 to 22.
Credentials
MBA, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina — Business Analytics concentration
Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving & Decision Making
SCOTWORKS Negotiation
Karrass Negotiation
Lean Manufacturing — Rolls-Royce certification
A3 Problem Solving
Practical guidance and training for buyers who want to level up.
A hands-on team workshop, a free buyer toolkit, and a weekly newsletter — practical procurement learning drawn from more than 25 years leading manufacturing procurement teams.
Senior procurement capability without unnecessary complexity.
Large advisory firm
Typical Limitation
High cost, large teams, extensive deliverables
TRU North Approach
Founder-led, focused, implementation-oriented
Software-first solution
Typical Limitation
Technology introduced before operating discipline
TRU North Approach
Existing people, systems, and data evaluated first
Temporary staffing
Typical Limitation
Adds capacity but may not improve the operating model
TRU North Approach
Builds capability, controls, and repeatable routines
Contingency savings firm
Typical Limitation
Often focused primarily on price reduction
TRU North Approach
Balances margin, supplier risk, working capital, continuity, and team capability
General operations consultant
Typical Limitation
Broad capability but limited procurement depth
TRU North Approach
Specialized manufacturing procurement expertise
| Common Approach | Typical Limitation | TRU North Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Large advisory firm | High cost, large teams, extensive deliverables | Founder-led, focused, implementation-oriented |
| Software-first solution | Technology introduced before operating discipline | Existing people, systems, and data evaluated first |
| Temporary staffing | Adds capacity but may not improve the operating model | Builds capability, controls, and repeatable routines |
| Contingency savings firm | Often focused primarily on price reduction | Balances margin, supplier risk, working capital, continuity, and team capability |
| General operations consultant | Broad capability but limited procurement depth | Specialized manufacturing procurement expertise |
Many traditional engagements leave clients dependent on outside resources, proprietary platforms, or continued support. TRU North is designed around internal ownership and capability transfer.
TRU North is a strong fit when leadership is ready to act.
Best-Fit Clients
- Manufacturers whose growth has outpaced their procurement operations
- Businesses experiencing supplier, inventory, cost, or capability problems
- Leadership teams seeking better procurement visibility
- Companies willing to provide data and executive sponsorship
- Organizations that want internal capability — not permanent outsourcing
- Manufacturers going through growth, acquisition, ownership transition, or performance pressure
Poor-Fit Conditions
- Leadership wants a report but does not intend to implement
- There is no executive sponsor
- Data access is refused
- The need is primarily temporary purchase-order processing
- The company is seeking the lowest hourly rate
- The client wants ownership transferred permanently to an outside party
Strong results require an engaged executive sponsor, access to accurate information, and a willingness to change how procurement is managed.
Find out whether the problem is procurement — or how it's operating.
This is a fit conversation, not a free diagnostic.