05/27/2026
The supplier was qualified. Tooling was dialed in. Quality was consistent.
Nothing was broken.
And yet Acuity Brands — one of North America's largest commercial lighting manufacturers — was carrying 12 extra weeks of inventory, with freight costs climbing and engineering time disappearing into shipment coordination.
The usual instinct: find a new supplier. Rebid the part. Start over.
We asked a different question — and the answer didn't touch the part, the supplier, or the unit price.
It came down to a single lever most sourcing teams never reach for.
Full case study → https://www.mesinc.net/case_studies/acuity-brands-12-weeks-of-inventory-eliminated/