How Old habits Can Become Costly Liabilities

One of a company’s main jobs—besides promoting social well-being—is to turn a profit. In the world of mining, the price of the concentrate you dig up is set by global markets. That means your mine can’t exactly haggle with the London Metal Exchange. But what is in your control is efficiency. A big slice of that efficiency pie is how smartly you source your materials and spare parts, which are a massive chunk of your costs.

Let’s drop into a real-life mining tale: a sizable mining company was wrestling with poor profitability. So the CEO brings in a big-name consulting firm, hoping they’ll turn things around. One of their flashy fixes was to re-negotiate every supplier contract to get better deals. In the end some suppliers slashed their prices by up to 40%.

They weren’t master negotiators. What the consultants uncovered was one of those suppliers had been coasting with padded margins for a decade, knowing no one was checking. They cut their price not out of kindness, but to keep the customer and still make a decent profit. The mining company had been overpaying for years.

The consultants, of course, patted themselves on the back, cashed in hefty bonuses, and filed glowing reports. But was this really a consulting miracle, or just the result of internal folks not doing their homework?

Say Supplier X sells the mine a crusher. That machine’s hydraulic system? Parts from someone else. Automation sensors? Also third-party. Crusher liners and bearings? Also widely available from tons of vendors. But it takes a bit of hustle to dig up those alternatives. And yes, OEMs may void warranties if you don’t use their parts. But most warranties expire after two years anyway, so what’s stopping you from sourcing smarter?

Take another real story: a mining site needed a new feed chute for their grinding mill. They sent a quote request to the OEM and a third-party vendor. The OEM’s offer was 2.5 times more expensive. This time, the sharp-eyed superintendent got the bonus, not the consultants.

Much like procurement and sourcing, benchmarking is your best buddy. Want real-world repair time estimates? Ask someone who’s done it. Or better yet, gather accurate data of how long each repair task takes and use your own historical data to optimize execution. No guesswork. No fluff. Just facts.

That’s where Sights steps in. Sights helps you level up your shutdown game with real data, not expensive consultants.