CUSTOMERS /
Blue Bird
School Bus Maker Blue Bird Got 38% More Sourcing Done with the Same Team on LightSource
By running its RFQs on LightSource with standardized bid templates, Blue Bird connected 398 supplier companies to one system of record and now launches a sourcing project in under 20 minutes on average.
More RFQs per buyer, same team
38%
Average sourcing cycle time
16 → 14 days
Of 398 onboarded suppliers active
99.7%
// SUMMARY
Blue Bird is a school bus manufacturer that has been in business for almost 100 years. Before LightSource, its sourcing ran on email and spreadsheets, site by site. There was no system of record for supplier quotes, no standard way for buyers to run a request for quote (RFQ), and no central place to find a document once the email thread went cold.
With LightSource, Blue Bird's buyers run their projects through one platform, from standardized bid templates, with suppliers connected directly. In 2026 the team has sent 291 sourcing projects through LightSource, onboarded 398 supplier companies with 99.7% of them active, and takes a project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average.
“Anybody that wants to do purchasing needs a tool like LightSource. It's more than just a system, it's the people behind it.”
// CHALLENGE
Blue Bird's purchasing team ran RFQs the way many manufacturers still do: over email, with spreadsheets going back and forth, and each site working its own way. "It was all over the place. There was no good way to do it," said Jeff Vanassche, Blue Bird's VP of Purchasing. "Emailing the suppliers, emailing spreadsheets back and forth. We were not providing [our buyers] the tools that they needed to be successful."
Without a system of record, the history of every sourcing decision lived in individual inboxes. Tanamay Kothari, a supply chain category specialist who buys polymer, wood and glass commodities, described the cost: "There was no centralized data or database to look back into, so I had to dig through thousands of emails to find a specific document that I needed."
There was also no standard process or template for building and running an RFQ. "That's where we needed some kind of systematic way of doing that," Vanassche said.
// SOLUTION
Blue Bird made LightSource its central sourcing platform and the single source of truth for item data. The team built a library of standardized bid templates and text templates, and Blue Bird's buyers were trained to run every project through the platform the same way.
Suppliers came onto the platform with them. Blue Bird has onboarded 398 distinct supplier companies, and 99.7% of them have activated their accounts, so quotes, documents and communication now sit in one place instead of in email. "It's a centralized platform that connects the suppliers directly with us," Vanassche said, "and helps keep the database intact in one platform and accountable for us as buyers and to suppliers."
For Mandy Miller, Purchasing Manager for Compliance Systems and Analytics, the records matter as much as the speed. "The biggest thing for me and for my role is the repository, the compliance piece of it, the controls, and making sure that we have everything that we need so that if we're audited, we have those records to fall back on."
// RESULTS
The team is also doing more with the same people. RFQs per buyer grew from 34.9 to 48.3, a 38% increase with no added headcount, and Blue Bird's average cycle time dropped from 16 days to 14 since moving to LightSource.
With templates in place, a buyer takes a sourcing project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average. In 2026 Blue Bird has sent 291 projects to suppliers through LightSource, each one running in the same structure and leaving a record the team can find later.
Vanassche sees the bigger change in where his buyers spend their time. "The more you can focus on strategic, you're away from all the operational stuff and all the day-to-day stuff," he said. "You're focused now a lot more strategically. You can really grow your strategic partnerships. That's where buyers need to be."
Blue Bird's future with LightSource
Blue Bird now runs sourcing on a platform its buyers, suppliers and compliance team share, with the records to back every project. Vanassche credits the working relationship with Spencer and the LightSource team as much as the software: "They're constantly working with Blue Bird. They're constantly growing, they're constantly available. I absolutely would recommend LightSource."
// SUMMARY
Blue Bird is a school bus manufacturer that has been in business for almost 100 years. Before LightSource, its sourcing ran on email and spreadsheets, site by site. There was no system of record for supplier quotes, no standard way for buyers to run a request for quote (RFQ), and no central place to find a document once the email thread went cold.
With LightSource, Blue Bird's buyers run their projects through one platform, from standardized bid templates, with suppliers connected directly. In 2026 the team has sent 291 sourcing projects through LightSource, onboarded 398 supplier companies with 99.7% of them active, and takes a project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average.
“Anybody that wants to do purchasing needs a tool like LightSource. It's more than just a system, it's the people behind it.”
// CHALLENGE
Blue Bird's purchasing team ran RFQs the way many manufacturers still do: over email, with spreadsheets going back and forth, and each site working its own way. "It was all over the place. There was no good way to do it," said Jeff Vanassche, Blue Bird's VP of Purchasing. "Emailing the suppliers, emailing spreadsheets back and forth. We were not providing [our buyers] the tools that they needed to be successful."
Without a system of record, the history of every sourcing decision lived in individual inboxes. Tanamay Kothari, a supply chain category specialist who buys polymer, wood and glass commodities, described the cost: "There was no centralized data or database to look back into, so I had to dig through thousands of emails to find a specific document that I needed."
There was also no standard process or template for building and running an RFQ. "That's where we needed some kind of systematic way of doing that," Vanassche said.
// SOLUTION
Blue Bird made LightSource its central sourcing platform and the single source of truth for item data. The team built a library of standardized bid templates and text templates, and Blue Bird's buyers were trained to run every project through the platform the same way.
Suppliers came onto the platform with them. Blue Bird has onboarded 398 distinct supplier companies, and 99.7% of them have activated their accounts, so quotes, documents and communication now sit in one place instead of in email. "It's a centralized platform that connects the suppliers directly with us," Vanassche said, "and helps keep the database intact in one platform and accountable for us as buyers and to suppliers."
For Mandy Miller, Purchasing Manager for Compliance Systems and Analytics, the records matter as much as the speed. "The biggest thing for me and for my role is the repository, the compliance piece of it, the controls, and making sure that we have everything that we need so that if we're audited, we have those records to fall back on."
// RESULTS
The team is also doing more with the same people. RFQs per buyer grew from 34.9 to 48.3, a 38% increase with no added headcount, and Blue Bird's average cycle time dropped from 16 days to 14 since moving to LightSource.
With templates in place, a buyer takes a sourcing project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average. In 2026 Blue Bird has sent 291 projects to suppliers through LightSource, each one running in the same structure and leaving a record the team can find later.
Vanassche sees the bigger change in where his buyers spend their time. "The more you can focus on strategic, you're away from all the operational stuff and all the day-to-day stuff," he said. "You're focused now a lot more strategically. You can really grow your strategic partnerships. That's where buyers need to be."
Blue Bird's future with LightSource
Blue Bird now runs sourcing on a platform its buyers, suppliers and compliance team share, with the records to back every project. Vanassche credits the working relationship with Spencer and the LightSource team as much as the software: "They're constantly working with Blue Bird. They're constantly growing, they're constantly available. I absolutely would recommend LightSource."
// SUMMARY
Blue Bird is a school bus manufacturer that has been in business for almost 100 years. Before LightSource, its sourcing ran on email and spreadsheets, site by site. There was no system of record for supplier quotes, no standard way for buyers to run a request for quote (RFQ), and no central place to find a document once the email thread went cold.
With LightSource, Blue Bird's buyers run their projects through one platform, from standardized bid templates, with suppliers connected directly. In 2026 the team has sent 291 sourcing projects through LightSource, onboarded 398 supplier companies with 99.7% of them active, and takes a project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average.
“Anybody that wants to do purchasing needs a tool like LightSource. It's more than just a system, it's the people behind it.”
// CHALLENGE
Blue Bird's purchasing team ran RFQs the way many manufacturers still do: over email, with spreadsheets going back and forth, and each site working its own way. "It was all over the place. There was no good way to do it," said Jeff Vanassche, Blue Bird's VP of Purchasing. "Emailing the suppliers, emailing spreadsheets back and forth. We were not providing [our buyers] the tools that they needed to be successful."
Without a system of record, the history of every sourcing decision lived in individual inboxes. Tanamay Kothari, a supply chain category specialist who buys polymer, wood and glass commodities, described the cost: "There was no centralized data or database to look back into, so I had to dig through thousands of emails to find a specific document that I needed."
There was also no standard process or template for building and running an RFQ. "That's where we needed some kind of systematic way of doing that," Vanassche said.
// SOLUTION
Blue Bird made LightSource its central sourcing platform and the single source of truth for item data. The team built a library of standardized bid templates and text templates, and Blue Bird's buyers were trained to run every project through the platform the same way.
Suppliers came onto the platform with them. Blue Bird has onboarded 398 distinct supplier companies, and 99.7% of them have activated their accounts, so quotes, documents and communication now sit in one place instead of in email. "It's a centralized platform that connects the suppliers directly with us," Vanassche said, "and helps keep the database intact in one platform and accountable for us as buyers and to suppliers."
For Mandy Miller, Purchasing Manager for Compliance Systems and Analytics, the records matter as much as the speed. "The biggest thing for me and for my role is the repository, the compliance piece of it, the controls, and making sure that we have everything that we need so that if we're audited, we have those records to fall back on."
// RESULTS
The team is also doing more with the same people. RFQs per buyer grew from 34.9 to 48.3, a 38% increase with no added headcount, and Blue Bird's average cycle time dropped from 16 days to 14 since moving to LightSource.
With templates in place, a buyer takes a sourcing project from creation to launch in under 20 minutes on average. In 2026 Blue Bird has sent 291 projects to suppliers through LightSource, each one running in the same structure and leaving a record the team can find later.
Vanassche sees the bigger change in where his buyers spend their time. "The more you can focus on strategic, you're away from all the operational stuff and all the day-to-day stuff," he said. "You're focused now a lot more strategically. You can really grow your strategic partnerships. That's where buyers need to be."
Blue Bird's future with LightSource
Blue Bird now runs sourcing on a platform its buyers, suppliers and compliance team share, with the records to back every project. Vanassche credits the working relationship with Spencer and the LightSource team as much as the software: "They're constantly working with Blue Bird. They're constantly growing, they're constantly available. I absolutely would recommend LightSource."
Faster sourcing. Lower cost. Less chaos.
Try out LightSource and you’ll never go back to Excel and email.
Faster sourcing. Lower cost. Less chaos.
Try out LightSource and you’ll never go back to Excel and email.
Faster sourcing. Lower cost. Less chaos.
Try out LightSource and you’ll never go back to Excel and email.
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Leading Industrial Manufacturer Achieved Multi-Million Dollar Savings and Accelerated Sourcing Cycles with AI-Powered Platform
Specialty Chemicals Leader Arxada Leverages LightSource to Drive Process Efficiency, Impact, and Cost Control in Tail Spend Chemicals Sourcing.
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