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One of America's Largest Retail Cooperatives, Reimagining Procurement
Ace Hardware is one of America's largest retail cooperatives, with a network spanning 5,800+ independent stores worldwide, 16 distribution centers, and a global database of more than 60,000 vendors. The scale that makes Ace a category leader also creates procurement complexity that few companies face. When Fraz Baig joined Ace Hardware as Director of Category Management and Operations, he recognized an opportunity to develop the IT category and elevate procurement maturity through effective category management. Over the next decade, his collaborative work and strong leadership advanced procurement across the cooperative.
The challenge that came next was the one most enterprise procurement leaders eventually face. With foundational maturity in place, Ace turned its attention to optimizing the team's approach to managing indirect spend across the enterprise. The procurement team identified Levelpath's advanced capabilities and foundational AI as essential tools to streamline complex processes and align with the company's current maturity level. Trusting the vision of Levelpath's co-founders Stan and Alex, Ace selected the platform to reduce operational complexity and enhance category management.
Outcomes from the partnership:
- 16 distribution centers connected through Levelpath, providing real-time visibility for facility managers
- 15,600+ employees actively using Levelpath for intake requests
- 40% of secondary suppliers identified as overlapping, enabling strategic consolidation
- 12% of distribution center employees engaging through mobile, with adoption continuing to climb
The Challenge: Three Disconnects That Slowed Procurement
Ace Hardware recognized multiple opportunities where Levelpath could define clearer processes and streamline operations across teams. Three challenges stood out.
Connecting Distribution Centers. With 16 distribution centers supporting capital expenditure sourcing activities, Ace faced challenges in fostering effective relationships with these critical hubs. Procurement had built strong working relationships with marketing, supply chain, and retail, but the same level of engagement was missing with distribution centers. Baig described the gap: "It was clear stakeholders were uncertain when to engage with procurement, what the procurement process was during the sourcing activities, why some processes took so long, or where to get help to drive the processes." Procurement needed to give distribution centers the transparency they required to see updates and understand exactly where things stood in the sourcing process.
Streamlining Legal Partnerships. When Ace facility managers needed to establish new supplier relationships or vendor contracts, they faced a significant disconnect with the Legal department. Facility managers and attorneys lived in different operational worlds, making it challenging to create contracts that effectively served everyone's needs. Beyond the communication gap, Ace lacked a standardized contracting process that could adapt to the diversity of its supplier relationships. The team needed a way to build out standards and templates so facility managers could engage suppliers with confidence in both terms and pricing.
Transforming Supplier Intelligence. With more than 60,000 vendors in the global database, Ace's supplier management system was complex and fragmented. Legacy systems warehoused supplier data after onboarding, but Baig saw an opportunity to make that data work for the business. As Baig framed it, "Many solutions can simply warehouse data. Our vision was to make that data truly actionable. We weren't looking for another lookup tool, procurement needs data that drives meaningful actions." The team wanted to connect Ace's existing technology stack with a solution that eliminated data silos, enabled data capture, and connected information so business stakeholders could have better conversations about supplier management and identify preferred suppliers.
Why Ace Hardware Chose Levelpath
Baig was first introduced to Levelpath through his relationship with the company's founders. Having recognized their enthusiasm for the platform and its potential impact for procurement professionals, Baig explored what Levelpath could offer Ace.
"While we had robust systems in place, we needed something to seamlessly integrate everything together. What sets Levelpath apart isn't just their technology, it's their collaborative approach to development. They truly partner with their customers, incorporating real-world feedback to shape their solution. The combination of their people, technology, and vision aligned perfectly with what Ace needed."
Fraz Baig, Director of Category Management and Operations, Ace Hardware
The decision was reinforced by Levelpath's ability to integrate with Ace's existing technology stack and provide an easy-to-use interface for the 15,600+ employees who would interact with the platform. As Baig summarized later, "Levelpath's enablement of AI and the Hyperbridge layer was really a differentiator for Ace."
Streamlined Distribution Center Operations
From day one, Levelpath transformed how Ace Hardware communicated with its distribution centers. The platform introduced visibility across the procurement process, giving facility managers real-time insights and operational control.
"Facility managers now have a centralized platform where they can manage projects, submit vendor requests to the indirect procurement team, and track progress in real-time. We have improved our supplier setup workflow and strengthened our collaboration with Legal. The platform connects all our work streams, giving us clear visibility into processes that used to be black boxes. This transparency drives meaningful conversations about optimizing our operations."
Baig, Ace Hardware
The process improvements enabled much more efficient management of incoming requests. By consolidating stakeholder interactions inside Levelpath, what previously required extensive coordination is now handled effectively by just two team members. The streamlined approach has accelerated vendor relationships and reduced administrative overhead, freeing the procurement team to spend time on strategic work rather than coordination.
"Levelpath has become a central portal for Ace as it relates to working with our distribution folks and making procurement easier for them."
Baig, Ace Hardware
Turning Supplier Data Into a Strategic Asset
With Levelpath's Hyperbridge reasoning engine, Ace Hardware simplified its supplier landscape by identifying 40% of secondary suppliers that were providing overlapping services. The data-driven optimization allowed procurement to view its supplier network with new focus and make strategic decisions about which vendors belonged in the indirect procurement ecosystem.
The systematic evaluation refined Ace's supplier list significantly, and the procurement team now focuses resources where they matter most. The team is taking a targeted approach, focusing on key vendors in critical categories. As Baig described it, "By examining three strategic partners in each of our five most crucial categories, we can test, learn, and adapt our approach based on vendor responses." The procurement team can now look at preferred suppliers, explore how the function has historically engaged with them, and decide where to make changes to capture the best value.
The enriched supplier data has elevated Ace's procurement capabilities to a new level of strategic influence. "Our team has matured to the point where we are managing Ace's most strategic initiatives," Baig noted. "Now, we are focusing on optimizing our spending to maximize our impact across these initiatives. Honestly, without Levelpath's supplier enrichment process, there are many suppliers we wouldn't even fully understand what they offer."
AI-Powered Procurement Innovation
Ace has amplified procurement efficiency by leveraging Levelpath's AI capabilities, particularly in the Sourcing capability, to accelerate supplier evaluation and pricing decisions. The RFP process has been transformed.
"Our RFP process has been transformed. We are not just making better decisions about current supplier selection, we are gaining deeper insights into market dynamics that inform our strategic planning."
Baig, Ace Hardware
Baig is clear-eyed about the difference between AI as a buzzword and AI as a tool that delivers daily value: "AI may be a buzzword in the industry, but Levelpath's approach is fundamentally different. They are building on AI's foundation with purpose, creating practical tools that deliver real results. The proof isn't in the promise, it is in the daily value we see from using this platform."
A Strategic Partnership, Not Just a Platform
Ace Hardware sees its collaboration with Levelpath as central to the strategic vision of the procurement function. As Baig reflected, "Levelpath has become our cornerstone for stakeholder transparency and visibility. By centralizing our operations within their platform, we are not just solving today's challenges, we are building the framework for tomorrow's success."
The cooperative approach to product development has shaped what the platform can do for Ace, and that pattern is expected to continue. Baig's final framing of the partnership captures the editorial value of the work: "While procurement has diverse responsibilities, Levelpath streamlines our processes and filters out the daily operational noise. Levelpath allows us to focus on what truly matters, driving the business forward."
Looking Ahead
Ace Hardware's procurement transformation continues. With facility managers, legal, and supply chain operating from a single source of truth, the team is positioned to take on increasingly strategic initiatives across its 5,800+ store network. The next phase will deepen mobile adoption at distribution centers, expand the application of AI to additional categories, and continue refining the preferred supplier model that Hyperbridge has made possible.
For one of America's largest retail cooperatives, procurement is no longer a back-office function. It is a strategic lever, and the platform that makes it work is Levelpath.
