Automotive Manufacturer reduces annual software spend by 42% with SAM services
Industry: Automotive Parts Manufacturer
Company size: 34,000 employees
Location: Global
Service: SAM Managed Service
Result: 42% reduction in annual software spend
Executive Summary
Following the departure of its SAM team lead, a global automotive parts manufacturer chose to replace its internal Software Asset Management function entirely rather than rebuild it. Livingstone’s Full Scope SAMManaged Service has run the client’s entire software estate for three years, cutting annual spend by 42%.
The Challenge
A global automotive parts manufacturer’s three person internal SAM team had been built around a single specialist whose departure left a critical capability gap across an estate covering Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and over 200 long tail publishers. Rebuilding the function internally was estimated to take 12 to 18 months to reach prior maturity, during which several major renewals were due, including a multi year Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. Leadership wanted a permanent, scalable solution rather than a stop gap, given ongoing volatility in specialist SAM hiring markets.
The Solution
Livingstone’s Full Scope SAM Managed Service took over end to end responsibility for the client’s software estate, working in place of an internal SAM team rather than alongside one. The Acuity platform was deployed to establish a single source of truth across all major publishers, with Livingstone consultants embedded into the client’s procurement and renewal cadence from day one. A rolling renewal calendar covered Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and the long tail estate, with Livingstone leading negotiation and optimization for every major event rather than only ad hoc engagements.
The Outcome
Over the first three years of the managed service, the client’s annual software spend fell by 42%, driven by entitlement right sizing, consolidated long tail vendor management and stronger renewal negotiation outcomes than the previous internal team had achieved. The client has not needed to rehire a dedicated internal SAM resource.
Key Success Factors
- A genuine replacement model rather than augmentation, removing single person dependency risk permanently
- Acuity driven visibility across the full multi vendor estate from day one
- A proactive renewal calendar that gave Livingstone lead time to negotiate rather than react
The Conclusion
Three years on, the client treats its software estate as a managed, predictable cost line rather than a recurring crisis, a shift leadership now points to as a model for other outsourced specialist functions.
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