Objective: In a contract mining business with decades-long supplier relationships, the Supply Chain function identified significant opportunities to unlock value, reduce risk, and drive innovation through broader supplier engagement. However, the ultimate purchasing decisions and equipment usage sat with operational leaders who held longstanding loyalties to a dominant OEM supplier. The challenge was not only commercial but cultural: how to influence change and shift deeply held mindsets around brand loyalty, perceived risk, and comfort with the status quo.

Approach: As GM of Supply Chain and Technology, Catalyst Strategy’s founder led a strategic, influence-driven campaign to challenge conventional thinking. The approach began with listening: understanding operational needs, preferences, and the historical context that shaped brand loyalty. From there, the focus shifted to tactfully unpacking the risks of complacency: missed opportunities, excessive cost, and over-reliance on a single supplier.

Rather than just pushing change from the top down, the strategy centred on building shared understanding and buy-in. Cross-functional workshops, data-driven comparisons, and informal conversations were used to open minds to the value and feasibility of change. Importantly, operational leaders were invited into the process of market exploration and supplier engagement, creating ownership of the journey, not just the outcome. It was done with them, not to them, and through every step, influence was earned through credibility, transparency, and collaboration, not just authority.

Positive Impact: The approach resulted in a genuine shift in internal thinking. Resistance eventually gave way to curiosity, and brand loyalty evolved into performance-based evaluation. Operational leaders became advocates for exploring alternatives, not because they were told to, but because they finally saw the value themselves.

By leading through influence, not hierarchy, space was created for constructive challenge, fostering a more commercially aware culture and building the foundations for long-term change. The shift in mindset enabled us to forge new, valuable supplier partnerships, to ink supplier deals with improved cost and operational outcomes, and ultimately changed how value was pursued across the organisation, without ever “forcing” the change.

If you're looking to shift mindsets, or unlock fresh commercial value, let’s explore how Catalyst Strategy can help.